Fox of Fairy Tail
by song-of-wind
Summary: The mysterious Fox appears in a dark dungeon in the Tower of Heaven...How will this new addition to Fairy Tail change the adventures of Team Natsu? ErzaxNaruto.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Fairy Tail or Naruto. **

* * *

"I'll never forgive you, Jellal! I'll put an end to this!" roared Erza as she stormed out of her jail cell. She raced down the hallway, swiftly cutting through the guards that attempted to stop her. She paused to take her bearings as she entered a darkly lit hallway. Noting that the hallway sloped downwards, she turned to backtrack when the stench hit her. It was the thick, cloying odour of blood; lots of it. She grimaced and entered the hallway warily, thinking it might be worth investigating. At the very end of the hallway, in a filthy, rusted cell, lay a still, bloody body.

Erza quickly strode forward, breaking through the bars with a few swift slices, and quickly brought the body out of the cell.

"Hey, can you hear me?" she called, shaking the man as she checked his vitals. A faint, almost imperceptible heartbeat pulsed beneath her fingers. She grabbed him and quickly brought him out of the hallway, back to the bright lit corridor. As she did so, she noticed the numerous injuries that covered his body.

"Tortured…." she whispered, immediately flashing back to the past when she too had been badly tortured. "If this is your fault, Jellal…." she growled as she strode forward. "You're going to wish you were never born."

* * *

It was late afternoon when the man awoke. He opened his eyes to see the warm sun shining through the window, illuminating the room. He was lying on a soft, comfortable bed in a rather fancy-looking hotel room.

Slowly, he sat up, wincing a little. His body was covered in bandages, although most of his injuries were completely healed. He was just getting to his feet when the door opened and a red-haired woman walked in.

"….Mom?" the man asked in a strangled voice. She blinked in surprise, but quickly recovered and walked over to him. As she did so, the man got a better look at her. While she did resemble his mother, he now noticed that she was young; probably about 18 or 19 years old. She was also heavily bandaged, but nowhere near as much as he was.

"You better stay in bed," she advised, looking him over with a critical eye. "You've been unconscious for several days now, and a lot of those injuries are pretty deep." The man shrugged aside her concern.

"I heal pretty quickly. Who are you? And how did I get here?" he asked. She sighed and sat down on the opposite bed.

"What do you remember?" she asked. The man frowned, thinking back. At last, he spoke. "I remember being tortured by this guy named Jellal…." he began, noting her stiffening at the mention of Jellal. "He was trying to get me to power up this lacrima of his to resurrect a wizard, but I would never give my power to someone who would mess with the dead. I was there for a long time...maybe three or four months. The days kind of blurred together, so I don't remember all that much."

"I see. Jellal was trying to resurrect the black wizard Zeref with the tower, and for that he needed a large amount of magical power. You must have a lot for him to consider torturing you that badly," she noted. "In order for the spell to work, he needed a sacrifice and a large amount of magical energy. He got the energy from manipulating the council to fire Etherion on the tower, which turned out to be made out of lacrima. For the sacrifice, he kidnapped me. I broke out and found you, and my friends came to rescue me and we stopped Jellal, but the battle caused too much damage to the tower and the magic began to escape. Somehow, the magic was redirected and we all survived. We brought you back to our hotel and you spent the last three days unconscious." The man frowned, carefully processing her words.

"Why did Jellal kidnap you?" he asked abruptly. The woman stiffened and looked away, a troubled expression on her face. The man winced, sensing he had touched a sore point and quickly changed the subject.

"Ah, never mind. You don't have to tell me," he said sheepishly, scratching his head self-consciously. "But you still haven't answered my first question. And where are we, exactly?"

"Oh! Right. My name is Erza Scarlet and we're at the Akane Resort," she smiled, holding out her hand. The man returned her smile and shook her hand.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki."


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

* * *

"Wow, so this is Fairy Tail?" Naruto asked as he gazed up at the building in admiration. "It's huge!"

"They finished it!" Lucy said in surprise. Naruto gave her a quizzical look. "Oh, it got destroyed in the guild war we had with Phantom Lord and they were still rebuilding it when we left," she explained. Naruto frowned. "A guild war? Isn't that forbidden?"

"Phantom Lord started the attack, so the Magic Council let us off," Gray said.

"But it's totally different from how it was before!" Lucy exclaimed as they entered the building. They were greeted by several guild members, but were too shocked by the changes to return the greetings.

"So, you're finally back, are you?" asked a short and very old man. Naruto turned towards him and couldn't help but gasp at the sheer amount of magical power he sensed within the old man's body. Luckily, his gasp went unnoticed in the rowdiness of the guild.

"This is our newest member, Juvia," he said, introducing the blue-haired girl next to him.

"It's good to see you all!" she smiled warmly.

"Hahaha! So you really have joined up, huh?" Gray grinned.

"Juvia….Thank you for all your help back there," Erza smiled.

"Hm? You know one another?!" the old man asked in surprise.

"Juvia has all of you to thank! Juvia will do her best!" Juvia smiled.

"Good luck!" Lucy said. Erza bent down to whisper something into the old man's ear. With his sharp hearing, Naruto couldn't help but hear their whispered conversation. He smiled at the old man's concern and flashed back to the smiling figure of the Third. The two were very similar. When he refocused back on the present, he noticed a new man standing in front of them, clad in black with several metal studs embedded in his body. The rest of the group were in various stages of shock and anger.

"It is the duty of an old man like me to guide young men who have lost their way back onto the right path. He's not a bad guy at heart, you know…..At least, I hope not," the old man explained.

"If this is the master's decision, then I will support it….But I think we should at least have someone keep an eye on him for the time being," Erza said calmly. Naruto smiled

wistfully, remembering his first teacher. It was the kind of thing he would have said.

Suddenly the guild went dark and the group sat down as a beautiful young woman appeared on stage and began singing. Suddenly Natsu jumped up and began yelling at the man in black from before. They were quickly hit by several mugs thrown by various other spectators.

"Okay, who threw that?!" Natsu roared, flipping the table. Gray jumped up and began pummeling him, causing Erza to drop her cake in the process. Soon enough, the guild was in an uproar, the mages fighting and brawling it out like there was no tomorrow. Naruto jumped to his feet, a mischievous grin on his face.

"All right! I haven't had a good fight in ages!" he proclaimed as he dived into the brawl. However, his wish was quickly denied as Master used his Titan magic to break up the fight.

As the guild subsided to its normal rowdiness, Erza tapped Naruto on the shoulder.

"So what do you think?" she asked. Naruto turned to her with a huge grin on his face.

"I love it! Where do I join?"

* * *

"Hey guys, what's up?" Naruto asked as he sauntered into the guild, suppressing a yawn. He had been exhausted from the journey and meeting so many new faces he had

collapsed the night before and slept in until late in the afternoon.

"The reporter from the Weekly Sorcerer is here, but no matter what I do, he doesn't notice me at all!" Lucy wailed. Naruto glanced the guy who was speeding through the guild, snapping pictures and rapidly scribbling in a notebook as he interviewed several members at top speed. He shrugged.

"It's only natural, we are new members after all," he said offhandedly.

"Wait… 'we'? So you decided to join after all?" she asked happily. He grinned and rolled up his right sleeve to show her the tattoo on his right shoulder.

"Yup! I talked to Gramps after the crazy battle last night and joined right after!" Lucy sweatdropped. "Gramps? You're just like Natsu…." she muttered. Naruto let the comment slide, remembering when he had first met Natsu…

"_Hi, I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto grinned at the pink-haired young man. "What's your name?"_

"_I'm Natsu Dragneel. Fight me!" Naruto blinked at the sudden change in subject._

"_Um….do you always change subjects this fast?" he asked._

"_Just fight me already!" Natsu whined. Naruto sweatdropped. "Fine. But let's go outside first." Natsu raced outside, dragging a protesting Naruto in his wake. Gray, Lucy, and Erza __followed, sighing at Natsu's usual obsession with fighting people._

"_Okay, start!" Gray said, refereeing the battle. Natsu immediately jumped forward, thrusting a blazing fist to Naruto's face. Naruto easily ducked and sent Natsu flying back with __a solid kick to the abdomen._

_Still flying through the air, Natsu took a deep breath, saying "Fire Dragon's Roar!" as he sent a blazing stream of fire at Naruto. Lucy shrieked in shock as Naruto was incinerated._

"_Natsu! You didn't have to go so far!" she berated._

"_No….Naruto's fine," Erza said, narrowing her eyes. When Natsu stopped his roar, a badly burnt Naruto toppled to the ground….to disappear with a poof of smoke. At that exact __same moment, Naruto appeared behind Natsu and executed a devastating drop kick that Natsu barely managed to block in time. Natsu quickly jumped back to the offense, __bombarding Naruto with a barrage of flaming punches and kicks, all of which Naruto easily dodged, a smile creeping onto his face._

"_You're too hotheaded; you charge in blindly and attack recklessly," he commented. "You can't beat me like this." At that, Natsu went berserk._

"_Oh yeah? Take this!" he roared as he brought both of his blazing hands together. "Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" The area around them was engulfed in a gigantic explosion. _

_Natsu landed on the ground, wiping his mouth as he grinned._

"_Is that good enough for you?" he challenged. Naruto appeared behind him, kunai at the ready. "It was a good try, but you can't beat me with that level of strength." Natsu __turned around completely shocked._

"_What….how…?" he stammered. Naruto shrugged and gave him a mysterious smile. "You fight too sloppily; your attacks are obvious and you make too many sweeping __movements. Actually, you remind me of when I was younger; you have plenty of destructive power, but you waste it on excessive movement, so if you polish up your fighting __style, I'm sure you can catch up to me," he grinned, giving Natsu a thumbs up. Natsu scowled but accepted the praise._

"_You're so strong for our age, Naruto!" Lucy exclaimed as they met up with the rest of the group. "I bet you could even match Erza!"_

"_Um….how old are you again?" Naruto asked._

"_I'm 17!" Lucy said._

"_Well, I'm 15…"_

* * *

Naruto snapped back to the present at the sound of an electric guitar. "Huh, what happened?" he asked in confusion looking around. On stage sat the man he had met yesterday…. What was his name again? Oh yeah, Gajeel. He was dressed in a white suit and was singing while playing an electric guitar. All around him the guild members were in various stages of shock, but Naruto couldn't help but be impressed by the lyrics. Suddenly, he noticed Lucy wearing some sort of bunny suit dancing along to the music.

"Coool! The absurdity is resounding! It's the hit song of the year!" screamed the reporter as he cried tears of wonder_. _Naruto grinned – he was really starting to like Fairy Tail! It was amazingly destructive and heartwarming at the same time, just like him! He couldn't wait to start his first job…..


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

* * *

"Good morning, Naruto!" Master said as Naruto entered the guild.

"Morning, gramps. Where did everyone go?" he asked, looking around in surprise.

"They all went out on some jobs. Speaking of jobs, why don't you take a look at the request board?" he suggested, pointing out the board to Naruto before walking away. Naruto's stomach rumbled loudly and he grimaced.

"I guess if I want to eat I'll need to go on a job," he groaned. "But I was really looking forward to some delicious ramen!" A bowl of steaming ramen appeared at his elbow. He looked up in surprise to see Erza standing in front of him.

"Eat up," she said, taking a seat beside him.

"But I don't have any money!" he protested. She pushed the bowl towards him insistently.

"Master told me to take you out on a job so you can see how it's done and I don't want you working on an empty stomach, so eat. You can pay me back later," she commanded. Naruto nodded and quickly wolfed down the ramen. Once he was done, they headed out, taking the train to Oshibana.

"An S-class mage like you wouldn't normally take beginners out on jobs," Naruto commented shrewdly. "Gramps wants to know how powerful I am, right?" Erza looked surprised by his intuition and smiled.

"Correct. Don't worry though; we won't be taking a very difficult job. We're supposed to clear out the bandit hideout in the Waas Forest for a reward of 200 000 jewels. And speaking of money, have you rented a place yet?" Naruto shook his head and she frowned. "Where have you been sleeping these past two days then?"

"I found a really comfortable tree just outside the town," he said casually. She did a double-take before realizing he wasn't joking.

"In that case, I'll help you look for a place once we get back from this job," she said decisively. She glanced out the window as the train screeched to a stop. "This is our stop, let's go." They quickly got off the train and entered the town. Naruto was so absorbed by his surroundings, he bumped into her with a resounding clang. She ignored his sheepish apologies and turned around to give him a critical once-over.

"The Waas Forest is two days' journey away from here by foot and half a day by four-wheeler. Would you rather walk or take the four-wheeler?"

"Well, seeing as I just recently recovered and haven't had much time to do some exercise, I say we walk. But are you fine with dragging all that luggage for such a long distance?" Naruto replied, glancing at her pile of luggage. She shrugged noncommittally and he sighed. He sat down on the ground and pulled out a blank scroll and an ink set from his pouch. He quickly began inscribing the formula for a storage seal while Erza watched in confusion. Once he was done, he ran through the usual seals and the luggage vanished with a poof, the word for 'luggage' appearing on the center of the scroll.

"What kind of magic is that?" Erza asked in surprise. "It looks like a mixture of my requip magic and runes magic." Naruto shrugged as he stowed away his equipment.

"The magic I use is different from your typical everyday magic," he said cryptically. "At any rate, we can travel easier now. Let's go!" With that, he raced off, leaving Erza standing alone in the street. Several streets away he skidded to a stop and came back.

"Uh….which way is it again?" he asked, sheepishly scratching his head. Erza smiled at his childishness, inwardly surprised at the change in herself. If it had been Natsu, she probably would have smacked him for his stupidity and continued walking, but with Naruto it was different. Perhaps it was the strong and warm magical presence he had that felt like it could melt even _her_ armoured heart.

* * *

It was getting dark by the time Erza called a halt and suggested they set up camp. Naruto readily agreed; his stomach had been growling for the past half hour and he was getting tired. He unsealed Erza's luggage and they quickly whipped up a meal (unfortunately not ramen) and set up a tent.

"Say Naruto, why don't you tell me about yourself? What with the busyness of the past few days, we haven't really gotten to know each other," Erza said, gazing into the fire. Naruto looked up from his spot by the fire where he was carefully rearranging his stash of gear.

"Hm…. Well, what do you want to know?"

"Do you have any goals or dreams? And where do you come from?"

"My dream is to be the greatest Hokage!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning widely.

"Hokage? What's that?" Erza asked curiously. He paused, suddenly confused.

"Oh, it's….I don't remember…." he realized. "I can't remember! I remember always shouting that, but I don't know what it means…..And I remember my friends and my family, but the details are all gone…." He clenched his fists, tears rolling down his cheeks as he tried frantically to remember. A hand touched him on the shoulder and he looked up.

"It's okay, we'll figure something out," Erza smiled. He nodded and wiped away his tears, suddenly embarrassed by his emotional outburst. "So how far back do you remember before it gets blurred?" Erza asked gently. Naruto thought for a moment before replying.

"Just before the Tower of Heaven and Jellal," he said, frustrated. Erza tensed at the mention of Jellal's name, a troubled expression on her face. Naruto glanced at her and, understanding what she was going through, got up and excused himself.

"I'm going to sleep, see you in the morning."

Silence pervaded the camp as the fire dimmed and the night enveloped them in its shroud of darkness. Two hurt and broken hearts lay in the night, weeping and suffering from the weight of their sorrows. If only they could open up to each other, they would find comfort and healing. If only….


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail. **

* * *

The Waas Forest loomed above them and Naruto was filled with a strange sense of familiarity and calm, despite the looming battle. The leaves rustled in the breeze, further enhancing the nostalgia Naruto felt.

"So what now?" he asked, focusing on the task at hand.

"Since this is a test of your strength, you'll be taking the lead for now. If you're stuck then I'll help you, but otherwise I won't interfere," Erza said seriously. Naruto frowned contemplatively, quickly reviewing the information they knew. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them, revealing yellow, toad-like eyes pigmented with orange. Ignoring his companion's surprise, he swept the forest with his senses, searching for the bandits.

"Okay, I've found them. They're half a kilometer north of us," Naruto said. Erza held out a hand to stop him from heading out.

"Remember, I'll be watching from the side, so don't rely on me to cover your back," she said sternly. "I'll come out once you've finished." With that, she vanished into the woods. Naruto grinned and jumped into the trees, swiftly jumping from tree to tree. Within a few minutes, he arrived at the bandit camp.

There were about thirty men in total, bickering and planning their next exploit. His hands flitted to his usual seal and fifteen clones popped into existence. They jumped down into the camp and began beating up the bandits. The battle was over in seconds. Naruto grinned and let his clones disperse, leaving the bandits lying on the ground in various stages of consciousness and covered with bruises.

"Well, that was easier than expected," he commented to himself. A boom rumbled from the forest to the south. A sudden apprehension filled Naruto and he sped through the trees towards the source of the sound. When he arrived, he was completely shocked.

Before him stood three mages surrounded by fallen trees. To his horror, Naruto realized the leader was holding Erza by the throat and pinning her to a tree. He leaped forward, kicked him aside, and snatched Erza up in one smooth motion before quickly jumping away. As he stood on a tree branch with Erza in his arms, he was hit by a sudden memory of a similar situation that happened in the past. He quickly shook off the nostalgia and jumped down to the ground. He gently laid Erza on the ground and quickly checked her over. She seemed largely unscathed, but was completely drained of magical power.

"N-Naruto?" she asked shakily.

"Stay here," he told her. "I'll deal with them." He made a clone to watch over her and got up as the mage approached. Erza grabbed his hand and stopped him.

"No! They're too strong! They're Serpent's Eye, an elite team from Death's Head Caucus, a dark guild known for specializing in assassinations! They-"

"So what?" Naruto interrupted coldly. "I've faced death since the day I was born. These guys….I'm going to make them wish they'd never touched a mage of Fairy Tail!"

* * *

Naruto dashed forward to meet the lead mage, creating several clones as he did so. Two of the clones raced past him, heading for the other two mages. The leader encased his body in a ghostly white aura and attacked Naruto with a barrage of punches and kicks. As Naruto blocked or dodged the hits, he felt himself growing strangely tired. He quickly jumped back to catch his breath and rethink his strategy.

"That white aura….It's stealing my energy!" he realized. His enemy smirked.

"So you realized it, huh? This is my Absorb magic, and I can suck you dry just like that girl you rescued. Maybe you've heard of me, Anim the Soul-Eater!" Naruto growled and plunged forward again.

"You're charging straight in?" Anim shouted with glee. "I'm going to eat all of that delicious energy, boy!" Naruto ignored him and attacked fiercely, bombarding Anim with a barrage of hefty blows. Anim parried the blows, absorbing energy with each touch. Sweat coated Naruto's face, but he battled gamely on. He sent a roundhouse kick at Anim's head and stumbled as Anim dodged. Seizing his chance, Anim lunged in, sending a solid punch to Naruto stomach. He cried out in pain before exploding in a puff of smoke.

"Eat this!" Naruto yelled as he plunged in from above, a spiralling ball of blue energy in his hand. "Rasengan!" He plunged the ball into Anim, drilling the mage deep into the ground. When the dust cleared, Naruto was in for a surprise. Anim stood up, casually dusting the dirt off his clothes, completely unscathed.

"You….that attack should have at least knocked you out!" Naruto exclaimed in confusion. Anim smirked.

"While your magic feels strangely different compared to the magic I usually eat, I can still easily absorb anything you throw at me. Now let me show you the other aspect to my Absorb magic." He held up his hand and a familiar blue sphere began forming. Naruto's eyes widened as Anim held up the very technique he had used on the mage earlier. With a swift motion, Anim tossed the ball at Naruto, shocking him even further. Just before the spiralling ball of condensed energy smashed into him, Naruto managed to throw a kunai at Anim. Scoffing at the weak attack, Anim easily side-stepped the missile.

"Ugh, now I know how it feels when I hit my enemies with that attack…." Naruto grimaced as he picked himself up, quickly shaking off the confusion of seeing his signature attack being used on him. Anim watched in mild surprise.

"Considering your surprise when I survived your attack, I assumed that it was a fairly strong one," he mused. "Perhaps you are more formidable than I first assumed?" Naruto ignored him, having just received several memories from clones that were battling the other two mages. From the images he received, he concluded that the other battles were nearly over, while he had only just discovered his opponent's powers. He was being upstaged by his own clones.

"An enemy who can absorb and reuse my attacks…..Sounds just like Nagato from back then," Naruto mused to himself. "Hiruko too, for that matter, but I don't think the same methods will work now. Besides, I can't use the rasenshuriken without getting Erza caught up in the blast." Coming to a snap decision, he made his usual seal.

"Shadow clone jutsu!" Two clones popped into existence beside him. He held out his hand and began forming another rasengan.

"That magic again?" Anim smirked. "Repeating the same thing over and over won't change the results."

"Think again, this one is different! Futon: Rasengan!" Naruto charged forward, holding a whirring ball of energy in his palm. Anim smirked and caught the ball in his aura-coated fist, easily absorbing the attack. Before Naruto could jump away, Anim reformed it and smashed it into him.

"Ahhhh!" Naruto yelled, his face contorting in pain. He paused mid-scream and flashed Anim a cheeky look. "Or not." He vanished in a puff of smoke. The real Naruto jumped in from behind, slamming a normal rasengan into Anim's back. With a howl of pain, the mage was sent flying away.

"H-how did you figure it out?" Anim gasped weakly.

"When you used rasengan on me, I threw a wind-coated kunai at you. I aimed to miss so that only the wind energy would cut you. Instead of absorbing it, you dodged the kunai completely. From that I deduced that you can't absorb and use others' magic at the same time, so I distracted you with a clone and hit you from behind. Simple, really," Naruto shrugged. He moved forward and with a sharp rap to the head, knocked the mage out. Just then, two clones came bounding in, carrying the other two enemies slung over their shoulders.

"You finished here, too?" the first clone asked, glancing over at the unconscious Anim. Naruto nodded and the two clones dispersed, leaving the two mages in a pile on the ground.

* * *

Naruto was getting tired of lugging three unconscious mages through the woods when he finally spotted Erza and his remaining clone. At the sight of the original, the clone gave a wave before dispersing. Naruto dumped the mages and quickly rushed over to Erza to look her over.

"You defeated all three of them by yourself?" Erza asked incredulously, looking at the still forms of Death Head Caucus' most elite team. Naruto nodded before pausing and frowning at the pile of bodies contemplatively.

"That reminds me, these guys are from a dark guild right? So what do we do with them?"

"We hand them over to the Rune Knights; they're the ones who deal with the criminals," Erza said. "However, I don't know where we could find them, other than in the capital city." Naruto brightened at that, pulling out a map to locate the city. He then proceeded to make three clones who picked up a mage each and set off at a steady sprint heading east out of the forest. Erza's jaw dropped.

"Did you just…." she stammered, struggling to make sense of what her eyes had just seen.

"Eh? It's fine, those clones will probably get there in a couple of days tops. Speaking of which, you're certainly in no condition to be travelling anything soon. Looks like a severe case of magic exhaustion to me," Naruto said critically, looking her over. "When's that festival supposed to start again?"

"In two days. Why d-" She was abruptly cut off as Naruto swept her off her feet and held her bridal style in his arms. He flashed his usual confident smile.

"No problem! You just rest, I'll get us there in one," he grinned before taking off at a speed that astounded her. The wind whipped at her hair, sending it billowing around her in streams of vivid scarlet. The warmth and calm that emanated from Naruto lulled her into slumber. As she drifted off into the arms of sleep, she vaguely remembered a long-forgotten superstition of the red thread of fate and sleepily wondered if that story had just come true for her.


	5. Chapter 5

**For those of you who have reviewed and asked about Naruto losing to Jellal, wait and see, I'll be explaining all of that in the chapters to come.**

**For why Anim didn't turn into a toad statue when he absorbed Naruto's chakra, the magic in Earthland enters mages' bodies from the atmosphere. I figured that was pretty similar to nature energy, so the mages wouldn't get the same effect as in ****_Naruto_****. **

**I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

* * *

It was nearly midnight by the time Naruto made it back to the guild. Wearily, he plodded into the building, gently laid Erza down on the nearest table, and collapsed in a chair.

"Naruto?" a voice asked in surprise. Naruto looked up to see Mira, tablecloth in hand, frowning down at him.

"We just got back from our job," he mumbled sleepily. "Erza got hit with a pretty bad drain magic, so she's out cold. Do you know where she lives? I need to drop her off before heading home."

Mira sighed and put her tablecloth down. "I'll take her home, you look like you could use some rest too. Go home, take a shower, and get some sleep," she advised. "The festival starts tomorrow morning, bright and early, so if you want to participate, you better get going." Naruto nodded wearily and left the guild in a daze.

* * *

Naruto staggered into his clearing and collapsed, too tired to climb into a tree. His eyes closed and he drifted into the land of dreams...

Or not. He opened his eyes to find himself standing in a strange white space.

**"Have you forgotten about me already, Naruto?"** rumbled a deep and vaguely familiar voice. Naruto turned around to see a gigantic, nine-tailed fox lazily perched behind him. He frowned, vague memories struggling to come to light.

"Kyuubi... No...Kurama?" he asked as he latched onto a faint memory. Kurama grinned and held out his fist for a fist bump.

**"Long time no see, Naruto,"** he smirked. Naruto accepted the fist bump, but the frown remained on his face.

"Where are we? And how did you get here?" he asked. Kurama raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I've lost a bunch of my memories, and I can't seem to remember exactly who you are," Naruto explained.

**"Hmph. In that case…."** Kurama reached out and flicked Naruto on the head. He was sent flying backwards and crashed into the floor.

"Ow! What was that for?" he demanded, rubbing his head gingerly. Kurama smirked. **"Call it payback for forgetting about me," **he teased. Just as Naruto opened his mouth to answer, a wave of memories swept through him.

"Woah..." he muttered, wincing from the sudden memory overload. Once he managed to process and examine all of the memories, he turned his attention back to the white space.

"So that's what happened!" he exclaimed. "I can't believe I forgot about Konoha and everyone! And...are these _your_ memories?" Kurama idly flicked an ear in response. Naruto frowned as he quickly reviewed the memories.

"So you don't know how we got here either?" he asked.

**"I remember some parts of it, but only faintly. You were doing something stupid again, and somehow, a huge influx of energy exploded where you were. I used all my chakra to protect you, and when I woke up, we were in this world. Since I had already exhausted all of my reserves in that explosion before we came here, I was too weak to contact you. That plus the transition to this world, which has a different kind of energy in the atmosphere, made it impossible for me to contact you until now. That suppression magic Jellal used on you didn't help either." **Kurama bared his teeth as he mentioned Jellal.** "I can't wait to meet that man again, I'm going to tear him apart from limb to limb for what he did to you," **he growled. Naruto grinned, happy with how much Kurama had opened up to him. Kurama noticed his smile and looked away with a huff.

"But why do you remember everything from before? Why don't I remember it?" Naruto asked in frustration. Kurama thought for a moment before answering.

**"The blast that sent us here must have done some of it, but I think your memory loss mainly comes from those three months of torture. With your mind already fragile from the energy discharge, adding all of that mental trauma must have caused your brain to automatically shut down to preserve your sanity," **he theorized. **"Good thing too; I don't think I could stand you being even crazier than you are now." **Naruto ignored the jab at his personality and focused on the matter at hand.

"Then how can I get my memories back? Your memories are great and all, but I want mine back."

**"It's hard to say, these kinds of things are very unpredictable. You might gradually regain them over time, or you might never get them back. Be happy with what you've got,"** Kurama said. Naruto sighed and nodded in resignation.

"Alright. It's getting late, so I'm going to head out now, see you in the morning," Naruto said, turning to go.

**"One last thing, Naruto. I'm still low on chakra right now, so I can only give you up to three tails worth in version 1," **Kurama added. Naruto waved in response before leaving his mindscape and (finally) entering the land of dreams.

* * *

**"Hey, Naruto, get up!"** Naruto mumbled something before turning over and falling asleep again. Kurama scowled and prodded the mental version of the sleeping Naruto none too gently. **"I said, WAKE UP!"** Naruto reluctantly got up, rubbing his eyes.

"What? What was important enough for you to wake me up from the best sleep I've had in ages?" he grumbled.

**"I sensed a sudden surge of demonic energy back near the town, and I want you to go check it out. It's very strong, and it's near the guild,"** Kurama explained. Naruto jumped to his feet, tightening the straps of his forehead protector.

"Alright, point me in the right direction!" he said as he returned to the real world. He set off at once, speeding through the trees at full speed.

"Hang on guys, I'm coming!"

* * *

Naruto arrived just in time to see two demonic beings battling it out in the sky at impressive speeds. Below them, an immense crater had been blasted into the earth. Naruto's jaw dropped in amazement. The crater's size even rivalled the size of the craters created by his rasenshuriken. He continued to watch in amazement as one figure slammed into the river and proceeded to draw the water around itself and slam it into its enemy. In that brief moment, Naruto managed to catch a solid glimpse of the figure, and was blown away by his revelation.

"Mira?!" he whispered in shock.

**"She's stronger than she looks," **Kurama chuckled.

"But how could she have changed so much?" Naruto asked incredulously.

**"It appears to be some variant of the transformation jutsu, but instead of just appearances, it physically transforms the user and gives them a boost in all areas,"** Kurama mused, narrowing his eyese. **"I guess you could liken it to the transformation you get when you use my chakra."**

"Maybe. I guess I'll ask her for the specifics later." Naruto turned his attention back to the battle, just in time to see Mira blast an explosion of darkness at her enemy. Her enemy collapsed on the ground, his demonic aura gone. Mira jumped on him, slamming in a killer punch. Her fist stopped a mere hairsbreadth from his nose. Naruto smiled to himself. If there was one thing he had learned about Fairy Tail, it was that they always overcame the odds and beat their enemies...without killing them. It was radically different from what he was used to in Konoha, but he liked it.

"This battle...it's so meaningless, don't you think?" Mira suddenly said as she released her magic.

"Pity for the defeated, Mirajane...? Just finish it-" the man coughed.

"We're comrades, you know...fellow members of the same guild. Smiling together...laughing together...walking together..." Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief. _The man was from Fairy Tail too? What in the world was going on?_

"Sh...Shut up! I have only one comrade; Laxus!" the man yelled. _Laxus?_ Naruto wondered. He felt like Erza or someone else had mentioned that name before, but he couldn't recall anything beyond the name.

"That's not true, though, is it? I'm sure you must have realised...I don't think it's completely such a bad thing to cling to one single person...But you have any number of people around you. People are always connected to one another. Just reach out your hand, and there's someone right here...It's when people realize how lonely it is being on their own...that they start to become kind," Mira said, her words filled with warmth. "You know that deep down, don't you?" Naruto couldn't help but shed a tear at her heartfelt and touching words.

"Let's all enjoy the Harvest Festival together next year, okay?" she asked, an angelic smile on her face.

"Definitely!" Naruto grinned, flashing a thumbs up as he jumped down.

**"…..You don't even know what's happening!"** Kurama raged in exasperation. **"Why did I have to get stuck with an idiot?"**

"Naruto?" Mira asked in surprise. "Naruto!" Cana cried, waving. Beside her stood Elfman, with Juvia in his arms.

"What's going on? I woke up a couple of minutes ago and sensed a huge surge of demonic energy….."

"You sensed that?" Mira asked incredulously.

"Of course! How could I not notice such a strong blast of magic?" Naruto asked, slightly offended.

"No, I mean, how did you sense that it was demonic energy?"

"Um, it's kind of a long story….." Naruto began, scratching his head.

"In that case, tell me later. For now, you need to go find Laxus! He's one of our S-class mages and he's the grandson of the Master. Because of this, he's obsessed with becoming the Master, so he tried to take over with the Thunder God Tribe. They turned all of the girls into stone and forced the rest of the guild to fight each other, so they're all out of commission. Luckily, we were freed, but Laxus activated his Thunder Palace, which is set to destroy the entire town in ten minutes or so. You've got to stop him!" she quickly explained.

"Is there anyone else I should watch out for?" Naruto asked.

"There aren't any more enemies, but Erza, Mystogan, Natsu, and Gajeel should be out looking for Laxus as well."

"Alright! See you guys later!" Naruto called as he leaped away.

* * *

"Hehehe, this Laxus guy sounds strong!" Naruto grinned eagerly.

**"Yes, it will be good to fight someone strong again. Unfortunately, I don't think you'll ever find anyone as strong as Obito and Madara here," **Kurama commented. Naruto shrugged.

"Then we won't have to worry about anyone taking over the world again!" he grinned.

**"You humans and your strange sense of humour…."** Kurama grumbled.

"Hey, your sense of humour is even weirder than mine!" Naruto shot back.

**"Anyways, shouldn't you be looking for this guy instead of arguing with me?" **Kurama asked.

"You're the one who started it!" Naruto grumbled as he entered sage mode and began searching for a strong magical signature.

"Found him!" he said, his eyes snapping open. "Let's go!"


	6. Chapter 6

**I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

* * *

A resounding boom shook the buildings, emanating from the large cathedral in the centre of the city. Naruto doubled his pace, bounding from rooftop to rooftop with chakra-enhanced speed. He jumped down from the last rooftop and hit the ground running, bursting through the doors of the cathedral. He took in the scene before him and reacted immediately, diving forward and slamming Erza out of path of the bolt of lightning aimed at her. The lightning crackled as it passed over them, frying the tips of his hair.

"Naruto?" Erza spluttered in shock. Naruto jumped back to his feet and pulled her up.

"Focus! You can't afford to get distracted here!" Naruto told her as he faced the large blonde man before them.

"Laxus! I thought I just told you I'm going to handle this!" Natsu hollered.

"Oh? When did you get here, Natsu?" Laxus smirked, glancing at Natsu. "And who are you?" he asked, pointing at Naruto.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm going to destroy you for what you've done to the guild!" Naruto growled.

"You're gonna fight me! Laxus!" yelled Natsu as he charged in, flaming fist at the ready.

"Natsu…." Naruto rolled his eyes.

"You know, I'm getting really sick of those head-on charges of yours. Out of my face, trash!" Laxus said, sending a bolt of lightning at the charging mage. Natsu dodged and retaliated with a flaming kick. Laxus blocked it and tossed Natsu aside. He followed up with a kick to the chin and grabbed Natsu's hand. With his free hand, he rained a barrage of lightning-enhanced punches to Natsu's face.

"Who's running? This is my chance to seize the top!" Natsu grinned, following up with the exact same move. Naruto sighed and created several clones. "Guess it's my turn to head in," he muttered. Before he could intervene, Laxus broke out of their stand-off and planted a resounding kick to Natsu's head. His follow-up punch was diverted by Erza's slash, sending the three battlers jumping apart. Naruto jumped in, taking advantage of the pause.

"What kind of magic is this?" Laxus scoffed as Naruto's clones closed in on him. "Clones? How weak." He sent a wave of lightning from his body, scattering the clones and forcing the original to jump backwards. Erza jumped in, requipping to her Black Wing armour as she did so.

"What are those things floating in the sky, Laxus?" she demanded.

"The Thunder Palace…. I daresay you've heard of it?" smirked Laxus. "It's a new rule and it hurts me too to have to use it, but…."

"You scum!" Erza yelled, lashing out in a ferocious kick. Laxus intercepted the blow.

"Two minutes to go."

"Natsu, Naruto! You have to destroy them all!" she ordered.

"We can't destroy them! Well, I mean…. If we destroy them, then we get taken out with them!" Natsu retorted.

"Organic Link Magic?!" Erza cried.

"That's right…. Nobody can lay a finger on those lacrima."

"You cowardly scum!" Naruto hissed. With a derisive snort, Laxus sent Erza flying backwards. She requipped to her Lightning Empress Armour as she landed.

"Hah….You think that will be enough to defend against my lightning?"

"What are you going at it with Laxus like that for, huh?" Natsu demanded. "I'm going to take him out!"

"At least leave a few blows for us too," Naruto added. Erza paused and glanced at the two boys.

"I can trust you on this, right?" she smiled. Natsu looked confused, but Naruto gave a nod in understanding.

"H-hey! Where are you going?!" Natsu asked as she turned and left the cathedral. "Don't tell me you're going to try and stop the Thunder Palace…."

"Hahaha! Useless! Just destroying a single lacrima could cost you your life! There are four hundred individual lacrima crystals floating in the sky up there! And you're out of time, too!" Laxus laughed.

"I'll destroy them all at once," Erza replied determinedly.

"Impossible! And even if you did manage, you'd die for sure!" Laxus exclaimed.

"But the town will be saved."

"Make sure you stop Laxus, you two!" she called as she left.

"I can trust you too, right, Erza? And I don't mean on whether it's possible or not!" Natsu called after her. "I mean that you'll come out of this alive!"

"Don't worry, Natsu," Naruto grinned. "If there's one thing I've learned in the past few days, it's that Fairy Tail always beats the odds."

"Still, four hundred lacrima is a bit much. You go and help Erza, I'll be fine here," Natsu said abruptly.

"Wait, what?" Naruto asked in confusion. Natsu turned and punched him hard in the stomach, sending him flying out of the cathedral.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu sent a billowing fireball at Laxus.

"I am going to defeat you!" he declared.

* * *

"198….199…." Erza panted heavily as each weapon slowly materialized. "Still not enough to take them all out….at once…." The lacrima sparked and fizzled as they began charging.

"Ungh...!" Erza grunted as she collapsed to her knees. "My magic won't hold up at this rate….And we're out of time….What now….?" she gasped.

"Looks like you need a hand," a warm voice said as a hand clapped her on the shoulder. She looked up to see Naruto staring up at the lacrima, a determined expression on his face.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. "I thought I told you to help Natsu!"

"He sent me here to help you, and it looks like you definitely need it."

"Hmph. There's still two hundred left unaccounted for," she said. Naruto nodded and moved to activate his jutsu when a voice entered their heads.

"Hey! Everyone, can you hear me?! This is an emergency! Look at the sky!"

"Telepathy?" Naruto guessed.

"Warren?!" Erza exclaimed.

"Quit just lying around, people – get up! Anyone who's fighting, give it a rest! Now listen up, all of you! We have to take out those things floating in the sky with all the magic we have! Not a single one is to be left! That's Laxus' magic that's about to attack the town! There's no time to spare, everybody just do it!"

"Warren….How do you know about the….?" Erza questioned.

"That voice….is that Erza?! You're all right?!" Gray's voice came through the telepathy.

"Erza?! So she's been deptrified? All right!" Warren grinned.

"Gray?! I see….so you…." Erza smiled.

"I just happened to run across Warren," he explained. The telepathic messages began stacking up as various guild members began talking all at once, with threats and angry yells flying back and forth.

"The infighting can wait!" Gray yelled.

"Like you can talk!" came the response.

"There's no time right now! Just take out those things in the sky!" Gray ordered.

"St….stop! Those things are protected with Organic Link Magic – " Erza began.

"We finish this after we've destroyed those things!" one of the guild members yelled. He was quickly backed up by the rest of the guild.

"Guys…." Erza said, a smile sliding across her face. "I'll handle the two hundred in the north!"

"I call the one hundred next to Erza! Everyone else, focus on the southern side!" Naruto added. His hands flew to his favourite seal and one hundred clones appeared and launched themselves at their designated targets. The other guild members fired their own attacks and as one, all four hundred of the lacrima were destroyed.

"We….did it…." Erza said happily. Moments later, electricity coursed through their bodies. Naruto winced as he saw his clones vanish and the memories hit him like a sledgehammer. Receiving one hundred memories of being struck by lightning all at once were by far one of the worst things he had ever experienced.

"I….Is everyone….all….right?" Warren's voice asked shakily.

"Honestly….You people can be so reckless…." Erza grinned.

"Like you're one to talk," Naruto grinned. As the guild recovered and passed along messages, he pushed himself to his feet, still clutching his head. Slowly, he staggered back towards the cathedral, his steps becoming steadier as he got his second wind and the effects of the memory overload began to subside.

He lurched into the cathedral just in time to see Laxus finishing his incantation.

"-Plunge from the heavens and reap destruction! Raging Bolt!" Naruto cursed as a huge thunderbolt flashed down on Natsu's still form. There was no way he could make it in time. He could only watch helplessly as the bolt struck the ground. With bated breath, he watched as the clouds slowly dispersed, revealing….nothing.

"Hahahaha! Natsu….Who is the strongest man in this guild? Hahahaha! Guess you can't answer when you've been blown to bits!" Laxus roared.

"Weren't you guys meant to be comrades? And now you're laughing about killing him….You really have lost it," said a familiar voice. Naruto heaved a sigh of relief as Gajeel appeared amidst the dispersing dust, holding a weak Natsu in his hand.

"Not that you have, or anything. Taking this guy out is my job."

"Good timing, Gajeel," Naruto grinned. He winced again as his head throbbed. "Stall him until I can get my head back in order."

"Tch. Don't worry, Naruto, we'll finish this guy before you've recovered, so you just sit back and watch," smirked Gajeel.

"Wait….we?! This guy is mine!" Natsu argued.

"I have a personal grudge to settle with this guy. However, he has the strength of a true monster. He is, after all, Makarov's own flesh and blood….We may not like it, but we hardly have a choice. We take him together."

"S….screw that! I'm gonna take him out myself! Like I could team up with the likes of you!" Natsu retorted.

"Take a look….is that really the Laxus you know?" Gajeel asked. "This is an enemy of the guild! We have to stop him here and now – the guild must be protected! Thanks to the feedback from the Thunder Palace, everyone else is out for the count. Even though Naruto made it here, he's definitely in no shape to fight. Do you have any idea what's going to happen if we don't stop him?!" Gajeel demanded.

"You….protecting the guild?" Natsu smirked.

"Destroying it, protecting it….It's my choice, all right?!" Gajeel fired back.

"I thought there wasn't room for two dragons in this sky, hmm?" Natsu grinned.

"Maybe not, but with all this thunder, that sky isn't fit for flying. This is a one-time thing, all right?"

"For sure it is! I'm going to settle things with you one of these days! Let's go!"

* * *

Naruto rested against the wall, watching in amazement as the three dragon slayers went at it. Despite the two's constant bickering, they had surprisingly good teamwork, instinctively knowing what the other was about to do. Their attacks were extremely destructive as well, demolishing large sections of masonry with a single punch.

Naruto moved to get up, but the pain returned, lancing through his head. He lay back, clutching his head in pain. "I should have rested longer back there," he grumbled. "Looks like there's nothing to it but for me to watch them fight and hope this headache goes away soon."

"Thunder Dragon's Roar!" Laxus roared, sending a sweeping wave of lightning from his mouth. Naruto gritted his teeth and made an ungainly scramble to get out of the way, waves of pain flooding through his head as he did so.

"I will finish it. You two, Erza, Mystogan, Gramps, the people in the guild, and the people of Magnolia….I will exterminate you all!" Laxus howled as he summoned a large burst of magical energy.

"Fairy Law!" he intoned triumphantly.

"Stop! Laxus!" cried a voice from the door.

"Levy?!" Naruto cried.

"You fool….what are you doing here….?" Gajeel growled.

"The master is….Your own grandfather….is on death's door!" she cried. "So please! Just stop this! Just go and see him!"

"He….He's going to die?!" Naruto whispered in shock.

"Well that suits me just great! Looks like my chances of becoming master just went up again," Laxus smirked. "Hahahaha! Die Fairy Tail!" Furious anger surged through Naruto, and he found himself reaching for Kurama's chakra, but before he could attack, Laxus activated his spell. A blinding light filled the room and Naruto was forced to shield his eyes as the light swept around them.

* * *

Naruto blinked and coughed on the dust clouds that filled the room. He quickly scanned the room to find everyone in the same condition as before the spell.

"What was that?" Naruto coughed.

"The guild members….and all the townspeople are safe. Not a single person has been harmed," a man gasped as he entered the cathedral.

"Freed?!" Laxus said. Naruto suddenly recognized the bedraggled man as the man he had seen fighting Mira earlier on.

"That's not possible! My Fairy Law was perfect!" Laxus shouted.

"It's your heart Laxus. Your power and your magical ability aren't the only things that you've inherited from the master. A heart that cares for its comrades….. Fairy Law only affects those whome the user recognizes as his enemies. Do you understand what I'm saying, Laxus?" Freed asked.

"His magic penetrated to the depths of his heart…." Naruto realized.

"You can't lie to your magic, Laxus. This is just how you truly feel."

"No! Anybody who gets in my way is an enemy! They're enemies!" Laxus denied vehemently.

"Give it up already, Laxus. Just go to the master," Freed sighed.

"I don't care what happens to that old man! I am myself! I'm not his grandson! I'm Laxus! I'm LAXUS!"

"We know that. Don't get so big-headed on us, you idiot. So what if you're the old man's grandkid? Does that make you special? So different? Don't you get hung up over some stupid blood relation! The guild is the only family we need!" Natsu roared.

"How could you understand….?" Laxus growled.

"Do we have to understand you to be your comrades? We reach our hands out to one another to get past that! Laxus!" Natsu leaped forward, aiming a flame-coated fist.

"Shut up! Natsu!" Laxus roared, his own fist flying forwards. "Just disappear already!"

"I'm gonna stop you here and now!" Natsu roared. "I won't let you have the guild even if I die! The guild….is our home!" The two fists crossed in the air, but before Natsu's fist could land, Laxus struck him a solid blow to the cheek. Natsu jumped right back up and resumed his charge.

"You…Why won't you just die?!" Laxus roared, swiping at Natsu and knocking him down to the ground. "As if the likes of you could ever defeat me….!"

"The guild doesn't belong to you…Just think about it Laxus…." he growled as he pushed himself back up. Laxus struck him down again and again, but Natsu just kept getting up.

"Natsu that's enough….You're going to die…." Levy said, shivering.

"You stupid kid. I'll burn you so bad there won't be any ashes left of you!" Laxus roared as he formed a halberd made of lightning in his hands.

"Shoot…." Naruto hissed as he realized the spell's immense power. He charged forward, even as Laxus launched the weapon at Natsu.

"Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd!" The halberd flew forward and struck with a massive explosion.

* * *

Natsu's eyes opened to see a burning red form standing over him, arms crossed in a defensive stance.

"N-Naruto?!" he exclaimed. Between heavy gasps for air, Naruto flashed him a weak grin.

"Go." The chakra vanished from Naruto's body and he fell back, exhaustion claiming him even as Natsu defeated Laxus with his strongest attack.

* * *

Naruto awakened to find himself in the guild's infirmary. He groaned and sat up, groggily assessing his surroundings. On the bed next to him was Natsu, virtually covered by bandages. He stifled a laugh, which had Natsu angrily mumbling insults through the bandages covering his mouth.

"Naruto! You're up already?" Lucy asked in surprise.

"Heh! I'm perfectly fine!" he grinned, jumping out of the bed. With an yelp of surprise, Lucy fell back on the floor. He helped her up and apologized for scaring her.

"No, it's okay! I was just surprised that after getting hit by the recoil from one hundred lacrima and then taking Laxus' strongest attack, you can still walk like it's nothing!" she said. Naruto scratched his head sheepishly.

"Well, I usually heal pretty fast, and those injuries weren't serious enough for me to need more than a night's rest to fully recover," he explained. He paused. "But I could sure use a big bowl of ramen. I'm starving!" Hearing a laugh behind him, he turned around.

"I guess you really are fully recovered," Mira smiled. "Come on down and I'll fill you up."

"All right! Ramen, here I come!" Naruto cheered.


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

* * *

Naruto heaved a sigh of contentment as he finished off his last bowl of ramen and sat back. On the table in front of him was a towering pile of empty bowls, stacked rather precariously.

"Ah, that hit the spot!" Naruto grinned, patting his slightly bulging stomach. Lucy's jaw dropped in amazement.

"You….you ate thirty large bowls of ramen?!" she managed to stammer out.

"Well, I haven't eaten for nearly two whole days," he shrugged. "Hey, do you know where I can find the old man? There's something I need to talk to him about…." Lucy looked up in surprise, but at the sight of Naruto's solemn face, refrained from questioning him.

"He's probably still be recovering in the infirmary," she guessed. Naruto nodded his thanks and strolled away, leaving her with the large stack of bowls and the equally large paycheck.

"….NARUTO!" she screamed as a smiling Mira handed her the bill. "YOU COME BACK HERE!"

* * *

Naruto hesitated before the door, his hand resting lightly on the handle. Thoughts and what ifs chased themselves in his head as he contemplated his decision and the resulting consequences.

**"Are you going to stand there forever? Just open the door already!"** Kurama growled in exasperation. Naruto chuckled sheepishly before taking a deep breath and opening the door.

"Gramps?" he asked, walking in. The old man looked over and sat up, a heart-warming smile on his face.

"Naruto! What can I do for you?" he enthused. Naruto approached the bed and pulled up a chair.

"I need to talk to you."

* * *

"When the war was over and everything started dying down, I started studying some of the scrolls my parents had left behind for me. That's all I remember, and the rest I got from Kurama," the Naruto clone finished, glancing back at the original.

**"I don't remember much more than that, though,"** Kurama admitted. Naruto smiled to himself as Kurama began summarizing the few events between the end of the war and leading up to their arrival in Earthland. It was definitely one of the most ingenious ideas he had ever come up with; while Kurama spoke through his original body, he spoke through a clone. It made things a lot easier when they both needed to talk at the same time. Plus, it kept them from wasting chakra constantly switching back and forth or Naruto having to repeat everything Kurama said to the old man.

**"I only vaguely remember Naruto doing something stupid when the blast occurred. I immediately used all my chakra to protect him, and the clashing of the energy from the explosion and my chakra must have opened an inter-dimensional rift and caused us to appear here. When we arrived, Naruto was already unconscious and I was quickly fading. Just before I closed off my senses, Jellal appeared and captured Naruto, immediately placing several suppression spells on him. Those spells, in addition to shielding Naruto from the blast and the adjustment to the energy levels in this new world, combined to prevent me from immediately restoring Naruto's chakra and escaping the tower once Naruto regained consciousness. Even after our escape from Jellal, my chakra has yet to completely recover. That said, I should be back to full strength within a week or two, depending on how much I use in the meantime," **Kurama explained. **"Naruto, switch back now."** The crimson, slitted eyes faded back into their usual blue as the clone poofed away in a cloud of smoke.

"As for the rest of it, you already know, gramps," Naruto finished, rather unnecessarily. The master nodded, his brow furrowed in thought.

"Thank you for telling me this, Naruto," he said gravely. "While I don't know of a solution to your problem, you should ta-"He was interrupted a knock on the door.

"Yes?" he asked. The door opened and a heavily bandaged Laxus entered. Naruto raised an eyebrow in surprise before settling with his typical carefree smile.

"Looks like you have some urgent business to talk about," Naruto said. "I'll leave you to it. We can finish our talk later, gramps." As he moved to leave the room, he paused by the door, glancing back at the silent pair.

"Don't be too hard on him, gramps, you know kids and their rebellious ways…." Laxus shot him an irritated look for referring to him as a kid. Naruto waved it off with a chuckle and left the room, closing the door behind him.

* * *

"Hey, Mira! Can I ask you something?" Naruto asked as the young barmaid walked by. Mira looked up in surprise before nodding and taking a seat beside him.

"When you fought Freed….what was that magic you used?" he asked curiously.

"Oh that? That was my version of Take Over. It's a transformation spell that lets me take over the power of demons and use it to fight."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? Do you think you could show me some time? I'd love to see how it works and how powerful it is!" he exclaimed.

"Well, I'm glad to see you're interested, but I'm not one for showing off. I'm sorry, but I'll have to decline your offer," she said.

"But you just recently started using your magic again, right? If you spar with me, then I can help you get back up to speed! Plus, I know some really good training techniques, so you'll get stronger again faster than you would by yourself. So please, please spar with me?" Naruto pleaded, giving her the puppy eyes. Mira stifled a laugh and glanced away, scrambling for another excuse.

"Why do you want to see it so much, anyways?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"I guess you could say I have a lot of experience with demonic powers," Naruto said, a mysterious smile on his face. "And I'd like to learn more about the different types." Mira frowned, still hesitating.

"If you spar with me and promise to go all out, I'll show you some of my powers, too!" Naruto added, noticing her hesitation and capitalizing on it.

"Hey, now, this sounds like an interesting bet," Cana grinned drunkenly as she joined them, slinging an arm around Mira's shoulder. "C'mon, it wouldn't hurt to put down some of the cocky brats now and again, eh? Besides, you sure could do with the practice." Mira sighed and caved to Cana's cajoling.

"All right, I'll do it. But not until after everything's died down." Naruto grinned and pumped his fist.

"Alright! Thanks, Mira! I haven't fought anyone strong in _ages_ so this should be fun!" he cheered. Mira just sighed, shook her head, and moved on with her bartending duties. "Thanks for the help, Cana," he added, flashing a grin at Cana.

"Eh? Oh, I wasn't doing it for you. There are quite a few bets going around on what kind of powers you have, since Erza missed seeing you in action. But now I'll know exactly what you can do and I can rack up thousands of jewels!" she said dreamily, beer bottle dangling loosely in her grip.

* * *

Fireworks screamed and boomed in the sky as the parade began. Naruto grinned and joined Natsu at his platform. He had been unable to come up with something to do beforehand, so he decided to hijack Natsu's float. While Natsu breathed fiery letters, Naruto spat out bullets of air at random intervals, increasing the fire's intensity. It was a handy trick he had picked up in his spare time after the war. Although, truth be told, he could have easily just lain back and chilled. Natsu's fire was plenty strong by itself.

"Hey, isn't that a new member?"

"Yeah, I don't think I've seen him before…."

"I wonder what kind of magic he uses?"

Naruto smiled to himself as he listened to the murmurs of the crowd. While a lot of the comments weren't particularly positive, not many were negative either. It was nice to feel welcomed by the townspeople, if somewhat grudgingly.

Glancing back, Naruto noticed the guild master behind them, dancing in an extremely comical manner. He stifled a laugh; if the Third had been that spontaneously funny, he could have had so much fun teasing him…. Suddenly, the old man stopped and solemnly raised his hand in the air, making a fist with his forefinger and thumb pointing up. Naruto smiled and copied him, smiling fondly as he recalled the old man's explanation of the gesture.

"Even if I can't see you…. Even if we're separated for a long time…. I'll always be watching you," Naruto repeated quietly.

"Eh? What's that?" Natsu asked in his usual clueless manner. Naruto laughed and stuck his arms behind his head.

"It's nothing, nothing at all."

* * *

"It just isn't right, old man! Why'd you have to drive Laxus away, huh?" Natsu yelled. "He's still one of our comrades! That doesn't change just 'cause we got into a fight! Besides, I still have to have a rematch with him!"

"Give it up already, Natsu," Erza said. She sighed as Natsu continued to rail on.

"Give it up!" she commanded. Silence ensued and she continued. "Think about how the master must feel about this. Do you honestly believe he drove Laxus away because he wanted to?" she remonstrated. She sighed and walked away, leaving him in a sulk. Her patience had been sorely tried in the last few days by the dragon slayer's rants, and she found herself yearning for the company of quieter, more mature people, like a certain blonde….

"Mira, have you seen Naruto around?" she asked, stopping the barmaid. "He's been missing for several days now."

"Oh, ever since I promised him I would fight with him, he's been off training," Mira smiled. "He's a lot like Natsu, isn't he? Only smarter, more mature, less hot-headed, stronger…." Erza ignored her dreamy descriptions and stalked off to a table in the corner. She sipped glumly from her glass, reflecting on the past week. After Laxus' excommunication, Master had tried to leave, despite their protests. It was only Freed's calm logic that convinced him to stay. After that, Naruto had vanished for several days before she could get a chance to talk to him. Only recently had she taken to sitting alone at this table, her thoughts dwelling on Naruto just as often as Mystogan and his relation to Jellal.

"Hurry up and come back, Naruto," she sighed. "There's so much I need to tell you…."


	8. Chapter 8

**I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

* * *

"All right! Come at me with everything you've got!" Naruto challenged. Mira stood calmly across from him in the clearing, a worried look in her eyes.

"What's wrong? If you're worried about getting other people injured by accident, that's why I picked this place to fight! We're several kilometers away from the nearest town, so we can fight it out to our hearts' content!" Naruto declared happily. Mira's expression remained unchanged.

"Where's Cana?" she abruptly asked.

"Eh? Oh I guess I forgot to tell her…." Naruto grinned sheepishly. He paused, scrutinizing her face. "Are you having second thoughts about this?" Mira nodded and he sighed. "You promised!" he protested. When even this did nothing to change her countenance, he sighed and opted for his backup plan. A wicked smile spread across his face.

"Hey, Mira…. Check out my sexy jut-" Naruto was abruptly cut off by a fierce punch to the face. He was sent flying backwards and crashed into the ground with a resounding boom. Slightly dazed, he blinked away the dust and rubbed his head. He got to his feet and examined the figure before him.

"Looks like you've changed your mind, huh?" Naruto grinned. "I must tell you though, I used to get worse punches than the one you just gave me on a daily basis, so you might want to try a bit harder." He couldn't help but think of Sakura as he said those words, but quickly banished the memories from his mind. He needed to focus on the battle, or he might actually get killed. After all, even if Mira hadn't used magic for a long time, she was still an S-class mage of Fairy Tail, one of the top mages in the entire guild.

**"You're a cocky one, aren't you?"** Mira chuckled evilly**. "Well, I had better do something about that!"** She rushed forward and aimed a vicious swipe at Naruto, which he narrowly dodged. Her speed was impressive, he noted, but it was only slightly faster than Kakashi at his fastest. He dodged several more blows and jumped back, forming his usual hand seal as he went.

"Shadow clone jutsu!" Several clones popped into existence and dived at Mira, who destroyed them with the use of several tendrils of darkness magic. Even so, their job was done. As Mira looked for Naruto amidst the slowly clearing smoke, he charged in and smashed a rasengan into her gut. She was sent flying back and slammed through the swath of trees behind her, destroying several of them in the process.

**"What….was that?"** she panted as she got to her feet. While she appeared to be badly bruised and scratched, she looked none the worse for the wear.

"I guess you could call it my signature technique," Naruto grinned. "That battle form of yours must be very durable to withstand a point-blank rasengan, but if that's all you've got, then I'm afraid this battle is finished." Mira scowled and began preparing an attack of her own.

**"Don't worry, you haven't even begun to see the extent of my abilities. Take this: Evil Explosion!"** she roared, sending an immense blast of darkness magic at Naruto. He silently cursed and braced himself. The magic struck him and exploded, blasting a huge crater into the ground. Mira's Take Over shimmered before vanishing as she fell to one knee, gasping for breath.

"Don't underestimate me, Mira," came Naruto's voice. She looked up in shock to find him standing, completely unharmed, in the center of the crater. Orange pigments highlighted his eyes, which had turned yellow with bar-like pupils.

"Im-impossible!" she cried in shock. Taking advantage of her confusion, Naruto leaped forward and pinned her to the ground. Crouching over her, he formed a rasengan and held it above her face.

"If this was a real battle, you would be dead," he growled, slamming his fist down. He smiled in satisfaction as a surge of magic ran through her. As he was blasted away, he couldn't help but grin even wider.

"That's more like it." He flipped through the air and regained his footing. Mira stood before him, this time in a different form than before. She wore a blue, revealing one-piece suit with scale armour covered her arms and legs. Protruding from her back and tailbone were a pair of wings and a tail, similarly armoured in blue scales.

**"This is my Satan Soul: Halphas. Master forbade me from using this spell due to its destructive power, but I'm sure he would understand given the circumstances,"** Mira growled. Naruto grinned and charged forward. They traded several devastating blows, but it quickly became clear that Naruto's sage mode was faster, stronger, and more durable than her take over. Desperately, she jumped back to make some space.

**"Cosmic beam!"** The massive explosion did nothing to deter Naruto's resolve. He easily evaded the attack and with a few deft manoeuvres, smashed through her defences and slammed her hard into the ground. She wriggled free and took to the skies, but his senjutsu-enhanced jumps easily overcame her aerial advantage.

"Is this all you have?" Naruto challenged. "Show me everything you've got!" With the help of a clone, he created an odama rasengan in his hand and slammed it into her before she could blink. The force of the jutsu slammed her out of the air and into the ground, easily ripping away the magic that shrouded her body. Slowly, the dust cleared, revealing an injured Mira lying on the ground. Naruto landed by her and cautiously approached. She was breathing heavily, but got to her feet, with even as he neared her.

"I've….still got….one last trick," she panted. With a focused burst of magic, her form changed once more. Flames enveloped her and she slammed her fist into Naruto, sending him flying away. He got back to his feet, wincing. That one strike was strong enough to make him hurt in sage mode, not to mention her boost in speed.

"**This is my newest satan soul, Satan Soul: Sitri! It's so strong, even its imperfect form will be enough to take you out!"** she declared, but her trembling limbs contradicted her words.

**"Naruto, this is the furthest she can go. You started this because you wanted to show her our power, right? Combine your chakra with mine and show her what it is she's up against. Just the pressure of my chakra should dispel the remainder of her fighting spirit,"** Kurama growled.

"All right, but be careful with the killing intent. This is a spar after all," Naruto agreed, even as Mira charged in with another vicious flurry of blows. Golden flames engulfed him, shielding him from her blows and the fire that powered her blows. Her eyes widened and she jumped back to as Kurama form completely materialized.

**"This,"** Naruto grinned, **"is my demonic power."** She stumbled back and collapsed, take over vanishing in a flurry of golden rectangles. Naruto quickly caught her with the use of his chakra arms and gently laid her down on the ground, dispelling his chakra shroud as he did so.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, worried he'd taken it too far. She nodded weakly and concentrated on breathing for a moment before answering.

"Sorry, I'm just exhausted. That was the most extensive workout I've ever had," she admitted with a rueful smile. "It looks like I really need to train a lot more before I'll be up to par."

"Phew. That's good to hear. I was worried I hadn't controlled my power enough," Naruto smiled in relief.

"You mean….you weren't fighting with everything you had?" she asked incredulously. "But that means...you could easily match Laxus and Gildarts, and maybe even Master!"

"Unfortunately, most of my strongest techniques are so strong, they could easily kill you," Naruto explained. "That's why I held back as much as I could. And as for matching Master, I think I still have quite a ways to go before I can beat him." He held out a hand and pulled Mira to her feet. He carefully looked her over, inspecting her wounds.

"Your injuries aren't too bad, just minor scratches and bruises. Luckily your take overs shielded you from the brunt of my rasengan attacks," he said. "But you're probably too tired to walk all the way back, so…." With a practiced move, he swept the girl off her feet and into his arms, bridal style. A few swift movements later, he was back in the trees, swiftly leaping from tree to tree, ninja-style.

"Woah!" Mira exclaimed in surprise. "There seems to be a lot I don't know about you, first your demon powers, and now this…. By the way, can you tell me more about that demon of yours?" she asked curiously. "I've never seen one like that before!"

"His name is Kurama, and he is a nine-tailed fox. I can use his power because when I was born, he was sealed into me," Naruto answered, giving the bare bones of his account. While he trusted all of the mages of Fairy Tail, he just didn't feel close enough to Mira to spill his entire story at this point in time. Mira seemed to understand and refrained from questioning further.

"Anyways, onto your training," Naruto began thoughtfully. "I think your major problem is your small magical reserves; since you haven't been actively using your magic for so long, they seem to have shrunk. All you really need to do is train regularly, and you should be back to normal. And as for that new form of yours, you have the same problem. Other than that, I think you're quite strong enough."

"Well, I am an S-class mage, if you've forgotten already," Mira said dryly. Naruto laughed embarrassedly.

"Oh, right. I forgot about that…."

"That's okay. Honestly, I'm surprised that you're even stronger than me. Even if I am weaker than usual, I'm still an S-class mage, and you were able to easily defeat me without using your entire power. Besides that, you're the same age as Erza when she made S-class, but you're strong enough to match and maybe even beat our strongest mages."

"I was just fortunate enough to have very good teachers," he said humbly. "Anyways, we've arrived back in Magnolia. Do you want to head back to the guild or should I drop you off at home to rest?"

"Back to the guild," she answered. "It's only late afternoon, and I have to clean up and close the guild tonight." Naruto nodded and sped from rooftop to rooftop, arriving in front of the guild in a matter of minutes. He gently deposited her on the ground and together they strolled inside.

* * *

Naruto sat back in his chair, sipping from a mug of steaming tea. Odd choice, perhaps, but it brought back memories of the good old days, when team 7 was still together. Around him, the guild was being its usual noisy self, with members bickering and joking left and right. After the recent battle with Mira, he felt no inclination to join in; that had been enough excitement for one day. Besides, he was in no mood for mingling with his fellow guild members.

Suddenly, the doors banged open and Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Erza walked in. Natsu and Gray dived into the throng, eagerly catching up with the latest news. Sure enough, their arrival quickly resulted in another raucous bar fight, with fists and beer mugs flailing left and right. Erza walked right past them and began talking with Mira, presumably reporting the results of their job. Lucy shook her head in despair at her teammates' antics and quickly joined Erza, wisely assuming that the safest place would be next to the strict disciplinarian.

Naruto took another gulp of his tea, just as Natsu soared through the air and smashed through his table. He gritted his teeth as anger surged through him, holding back the urge to smash a rasengan in Natsu's face and be done with it.

"Natsu…." Naruto growled. "Get out of my way!" With that, he flung Natsu back into the fight and stalked away. Noting that Erza appeared to have finished her report, he gravitated towards her.

"Naruto!" she smiled. "I need to talk to you." Naruto reflexively snatched a mug out of the air and tossed it back into the brawl. He grabbed her hand and turned away.

"Come out with me." He paused as he felt resistance and turned around, puzzled. He was greeted by the sight of a crimson Erza and a completely silent guild. He paused, thinking back, before he realized his mistake. "Outside," he amended, a light blush spreading across his face. Erza nodded shakily and followed him, still stunned and very much embarrassed.


	9. Chapter 9

**I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

* * *

After several minutes of walking in silence, Naruto pulled Erza onto a hilltop near the clearing where he had spent the last several nights. They sat down on the grass, watching the last warm rays of sun.

"Do you know what Mystogan is like?" Naruto asked suddenly. Erza's breath hitched and she turned to stare at him in surprise.

"What's wrong?" he asked in confusion. She turned her gaze back to the horizon.

"Earlier, when I said I needed to talk to you? I wanted to tell you that Mystogan has the same face as Jellal." Naruto digested this in silence. "He always wears a mask and bandanna covering up his face, and he usually makes us fall asleep when he comes to the guild, so nobody has seen his face before now."

"I see….What kind of magic does he use?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think he uses staffs as a medium. He usually carries several of them on his back, and I've never seen him without at least one or two. Why do you want to know about Mystogan anyways?" Erza asked. Naruto sighed and lay back on the slope, closing his eyes briefly as he considered how to explain his situation to her.

"Well, it has to do with my past. Gramps said that Mystogan might know something about it, so I should find him and talk to him," Naruto explained.

**"Naruto, you might as well tell her,"** Kurama advised. **"You've already told the old man everything, and he told you to tell your guildmates. Who better to start with than Erza?"**

"_Are you sure?"_ Naruto asked silently.

**"Yes. Why all this hesitation? You've always been a lot more trusting and reckless than this,"** Kurama commented. Naruto sighed.

"_I guess I just don't want to lose the friendships I've made. Every time I think about telling them, my heart twists in fear. I'm tired of having to prove my worth time and time again. But you're right, I need to tell them the truth. I just hope that they'll still accept me…." _

"Naruto? Are you okay?" Erza asked in concern. Naruto snapped back to the present.

"Oh sorry, I was just…." he glanced at her worried face and took a deep breath. "Erza, I can trust you, right?"

"Of course!" Erza replied, surprised by the abrupt subject change, but sensing he was about to tell her something important.

"Can you promise me you won't tell anyone else what I'm about to tell you without my permission?" She nodded and waited patiently for him to continue.

"My story begins on October 10th, fifteen years ago, in a village in a whole other world."

* * *

"When I arrived here, Jellal found me and captured me. I don't know how, but even with my depleted reserves he managed to sense that I had a large chakra capacity. He later told me that he wanted my power to fuel his tower, but of course I refused. Those three months I spent being tortured….they're a blank in my mind.

"Kurama theorized that I subconsciously suppressed the memories, which in addition to the explosion that sent me here, combined to bury all of my memories deep inside of me. When I met Kurama again, he sent a surge of his own memories through me, which pulled back most of mine. I'm still missing the events leading up to the explosion and everything from there to my rescue, but to be honest, I'm not sure if I want to remember." Naruto took a deep breath, struggling to hold back the tears. A hand gently touched him on the shoulder and he looked up to see Erza, a look of deep compassion and understanding on her face. She opened her arms and he fell into her embrace, crying out all of his fears, frustrations, and anger into her shoulder.

After a length of time, Naruto withdrew from her embrace and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. Erza waited patiently as he took another moment to compose himself. Composed, he looked up and gave a watery chuckle.

"Thanks….it's just…..so overwhelming," he said brokenly. Erza smiled and gently patted his hand.

"I understand," she said softly. "When I first came to Fairy Tail, I used to always present a strict and strong image, but that was just to cover my insecurity. I would always hide somewhere and cry by myself. I was in a completely new world that was radically different from my old one. But I've learned to trust and let others into my heart. You need to too."

"I used to, long ago," Naruto said wistfully. "But after the war, things changed. The pressure of having to find a solution to everyone's problems, of being the one to break the curse of the cycle of hatred, and with many of my closest friends killed in the war because they were protecting me….I built a wall around my heart, shutting others out.

"But now….I think I'm ready to trust again," he concluded, with a long look at Erza. A gentle smile graced her lips and she looked away, focusing on the horizon once again.

"Do you know why Jellal wanted to resurrect Zeref?" Naruto suddenly asked. Erza's mouth tightened and she unconsciously clenched her fists. Naruto noted these signs and quickly added, "If you're not up to telling me, it's okay."

"No. You entrusted me with your story. It's only right that I return the favour," she said. "When I was young, I was imprisoned by a Black Magic cult in the Tower of Heaven. Along with many other slaves, we were forced to build the tower. I was only ten or so at that time, and that was where I first met Jellal.

"Back then, he wasn't cruel or evil. He was always cheerful and optimistic and took care of all of us. He was our leader, and we looked up to him. He was one of my first friends. He also introduced me to Rob, an elderly mage from Fairy Tail, and he would often comfort me with tales of his exploits, the guild, and magic.

"One day, one of my friends came up with a plan for us to escape the tower. We nearly succeeded, but at the last moment, we were caught by the guards. When they threatened to send only the mastermind to the disciplinary chamber, I could see my friend was terrified. I was about to volunteer, but Jellal announced that it was his idea. Even so, the guards decided that I was the instigator and sent me to the disciplinary chamber. There, I was badly tortured, to the very brink of death, and I lost my right eye," she said slowly, instinctively reaching up to touch her eye. She took a deep breath and continued.

"Jellal rescued me, but he was quickly captured. That time, I was so angry, I called for all of my fellow slaves to revolt against our captors so we could escape and free Jellal. We succeeded at first, perhaps because we had the element of surprise. But too soon, the tower's mages arrived, sending most of our fighters retreating. During that attack, one of the mages blasted off my friend's lower jaw, and another attacked me. Rob sacrificed himself to save me, but died in the process. By that time, I was so angry and grief-filled, his death must have triggered my magical power. With it, I defeated all the guards around me and we quickly overcame that sector and freed the slaves there.

"The revolt finished quickly afterwards. While my friends and the other slaves boarded the ships, I went to rescue Jellal, but he'd changed…. His personality had become radically different. When I found him, he was ruthlessly slaughtering the defenceless guards around him with magic. He claimed he had been possessed by the spirit of Zeref, and decided that the way to true freedom lay in completing the tower and resurrecting Zeref. He wanted me to help him, and I rejected him. He threw me out of the tower and into the ocean, telling me that his mercy was simply because I had helped take care of the guards who would have opposed him. But before he let me escape, he told me to keep the tower a secret and to never return, threatening to destroy the tower and kill everyone in it if I disobeyed.

"I was washed up on the shores of Fiore and I made my way to Fairy Tail. I was welcomed with open arms and my right eye was restored by the healer, Porlyusica. I pushed away the thoughts of my friends and cowardly abandoned them.

"When I found you-" Naruto placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Lucy already told me what happened before you rescued me," he said gently. "I know that what happened hurt you a lot, so there's no need for you to relive that pain for nothing. Thank you for telling me your story." They subsided into companionable silence.

"There's something I still don't understand," Erza said slowly, thinking back. "When you first woke up, you saw me and asked 'Mother?'. Why di-"

"Why did I say that?" Naruto asked in amusement. "When I woke up, I was rather disoriented. When I saw you, the first thing I noticed was your red hair. My mother had beautiful red hair just like yours, so when I saw you, I thought you were my mom." Erza smiled and blushed lightly at the compliment.

"I-I see….Not many people have complimented me on my hair….thank you."

"Really?" Naruto asked in surprise. "Well, you're definitely one of the most beautiful women I've seen. You're beautiful both inside and out, which is definitely rare. Actually when I first met you, I thought you were a very professional, cool, and strict leader. But after I got to know you more, I saw that beyond your projected professionalism, there lay a heart of compassion and love. Your warmth and love for your comrades outshone your supposed cold, hard exterior," Naruto said, partially to himself. He paused, realizing he had revealed so much of himself to her. He stole a quick glance and saw she was blushing madly and he quickly looked away, a faint blush spreading across his face as well.

"So, uh, you got to know your parents, right? What were they like?" Erza asked, quickly changing the subject. Naruto brightened and began talking animatedly, describing his parents and their achievements.

"I wish I could have met my parents…." Erza sighed. Naruto gently placed his hand over hers. She looked up in surprise as he took her hand between his and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Their legacy lives on in you," he said simply. "Besides, Fairy Tail is your family now. There's no need to be alone anymore." She smiled and nodded mutely, thankful for his words.

"So tell me about your exploits with Natsu, Gray, and Lucy. I haven't been in this world long, and in the time I have spent with you guys, I've only been on one job with you so far. What's it like working with a team?" Naruto asked curiously. Erza laughed and began regaling him with tales of their exploits. They continued talking, heedless of the morning sun's rays stealing over their intertwined hands.


	10. Chapter 10

**I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

* * *

"EHHH?! Erza! Naruto! What are you doing?!"

Instantly Naruto jumped to his feet and drew a kunai….or rather, he tried to. He fell back to the ground, yanked back by a solid steel bar. Upon closer examination, he realized, to his utter embarrassment, that Erza's arm had pinioned him to her side. He quickly wriggled free, but not before Erza's eyes snapped open, meeting his. A crimson flush spread across her face as they sprang apart.

"What were you two doing?" Lucy demanded. Erza, still sporting a furious blush, looked away and mumbled something under her breath. Naruto got to his feet and seeing Natsu, Gray, and Lucy all standing before them with scandalised expressions, he quickly explained.

"Eh, we were up late last night talking and we must have drifted off to sleep. Why are you guys here?"

"You guys didn't show up at the guild this morning," Gray began. "And since the 24-hour endurance race is starting in a few hours, Master told us to look for you."

"….the what?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"The 24-Hour Endurance Race. It's an annual competition the guild holds where all the mages have to participate in a 24-hour road race. The person in last place faces punishment, which is why everyone tries their hardest to win," Erza explained calmly, having regained her composure. "I completely forgot it was today, and there are only two hours left, so I'll see you guys later!" she hurriedly added as she raced off.

"Thanks for waking us up," Naruto said, embarrassed. "I'm going to go and prepare too….yeah….see ya." With that, he sped away, already making plans for the upcoming race and trying his hardest to forget about the morning's events.

* * *

"Heh, this year's gonna be a walk in the park again," Jet smirked confidently. Naruto raised an eyebrow, glancing over at Jet and critically looking him over.

"Oh yeah? I wouldn't be so sure of that," Naruto smirked.

"There's no way you can beat my High Speed magic," Jet scoffed.

"Well, we'll see who's the faster one once this race starts….that is, if you can see me at all," Naruto grinned. Jet scowled at him, an angry retort already forming on his lips when the master cut him off.

"Quiet everyone! Mages of Fairy Tail! A mage is strong of both mind and body! I wish for you to use those powers to the utmost in today's competition!

"The rules are simple! You will run as fast as you can from the start line, then here along the appointed course, heading for Mt. Ivor! This year, I have left Wyvern scales at the top of Mt. Ivor. You will take one of those scales and return here within twenty-four hours!

"I won't accept any dropouts. If you are a Fairy Tail mage, then you will run the distance, all the way to your next job tomorrow! Furthermore, I am imposing a new regulation this year at the urging of many….Flying magic is forbidden! Other than that, any type of magic is allowed," the master explained. "And of course, the person who comes in last will face a punishment of which there is nothing scarier on the planet!"

As Naruto moved to take his place, he found himself standing beside Jet, with Lucy and a young girl with blue hair on his right.

"Hi, I'm Naruto, I don't think I've met you before?" he smiled, holding out his hand. She giggled and accepted the hand, shaking it vigorously.

"My name's Levy! I've seen you around a couple of times, but no, I haven't actually met you before."

"Levy, stop talking with this guy and watch my start!" Jet interrupted. Naruto scowled, but Levy answered for him.

"I don't have the time for that!" she frowned.

"He just wants to show you how cool he is," Lucy winked.

"You probably don't realize, Lu-chan, but I couldn't watch him at the start if I wanted to," Levy explained.

"Hah, we'll see about that," Naruto smirked. "Hey Jet, let's make a bet: if you win this race, I'll admit you were right and do whatever you want. But if I win, you have to admit you were wrong and give me 100 000 jewels."

"Sounds good. I can't wait to hear your begs of forgiveness," Jet grinned back.

**"Hey Naruto, I thought you wanted to use this race to do some strength training,"** Kurama growled. **"How are you going to win this race if you're going to train while you're at it?"**

_"Don't worry, I've already got a plan for that,"_ Naruto replied confidently. _"Trust me!"_

"Ready! Go!"the master called as he shot a burst of light magic into the air. Jet took off instantly, creating a huge dust cloud that sent everyone flying. Naruto gritted his teeth as sand filled the air.

"Shadow clone jutsu!" Several clones poofed into existence and raced away, disappearing from sight moments later.

**"I see….So that's your plan. It's not as bad as I thought it would be," **Kurama grinned as Naruto hit the floor.

_"Hey! What do you mean by that?!"_ Naruto pouted. _"My plans are awesome!"_

**"Hmph." **Naruto turned his attention back to the race just in time to see Natsu charging away, using his flaming fists to boost his speed. The rest of the crowd raced after him, complaining as they went. Naruto grinned and got to his feet, eager to join them.

"Eh?!" he exclaimed as he realized that only he, Lucy, and Levy still stood at the starting line.

"Now then, who'll be getting the punishment? I can't wait!" the master chuckled evilly. Naruto shot off, accompanied by Lucy and Levy.

"Naruto, why are you back here with us?" Lucy panted. "Mira said you were even faster than her strongest Take Over!"

"I'm warming up," he replied. The two girls stared at him like he was crazy. "Oh, and I'm training too," he added with a grin. "I'm wearing weights so it's harder to run, but my muscles will get loads stronger because of it!"

"Only you would be crazy enough to give yourself a handicap in something like this…." Lucy sighed in exasperation.

"What kind of weights are you using?" Levy asked curiously. "I don't see any weights..."

"Well, I'm not using your everyday weights," Naruto explained. "I created about a hundred clones who used a modified transformation to transform into small rocks, which I stuffed in my pockets. Their transformation is modified so that even though they look like rocks, they're still as heavy as they were before! It's so much cheaper than buying actual weights and waaay more effective!"

"….Lu-chan, I pity you, having to be on a team with this crazy guy," Levy said solemnly, turning to look at Lucy.

"Finally you understand my suffering!" Lucy said, almost crying with happiness. "But even worse, I have Natsu too!"

"Hey! I'm not crazy!" Naruto protested. "And since when was I on your team?"

"Didn't Erza tell you?" Lucy asked in confusion. Naruto shook his head and Lucy smacked her forehead in exasperation.

"I'm going to kill you Natsu…." she muttered under her breath. "Well, anyways, we already agreed to invite you into our team, but we decided that Erza should tell you since she knows you the best. Erza wasn't with us when we decided to invite you, so Natsu volunteered to tell her to invite you. But clearly he forgot."

"Oh…." Naruto said, still digesting her explanation. "Sure! I'd love to be on a team with you guys," he grinned.

"Great! We already picked out a job to do after this race," Lucy smiled.

"Actually, I'll have to pass, I have something else I have to do first," Naruto said. "But I'll probably be back in time for the next one. Is that okay?" Silence greeted his reply. Confused, Naruto turned to ask Lucy if she heard his question when he realized both girls had vanished. He skidded to a stop and turned around to see Lucy sitting by a tree with Levy by her.

"Hey, are you okay?" Naruto asked in concern as he jogged up to them.

"I'm beat…. I can't go on anymore. I need a break. You guys go on ahead," Lucy gasped. Naruto nodded and resumed jogging with Levy rejoining him a few moments later.

"So….what kind of magic do you use?" Naruto asked, uncomfortable with the awkward silence.

"Oh, I use Solid Script! I can create solid words in their depicted form. For example, if I wrote 'fire', the word would appear in fiery letters. And if I use-"Levy was cut off by a maid with pink hair racing by with a screaming Lucy in her arms.

"Ah! I can't let Lucy get ahead of me. Sorry, I'll talk to you later, I gotta run," Naruto grinned, speeding up.

* * *

"Hey Lucy!" Naruto waved as he caught up to her.

"You really are fast!" she gasped. "By the way, I forgot to ask you earlier, but what were you and Erza talking about that could keep you up all night?"

"Oh, uh, we were….eh, my warm up's finished, I'm going to go on ahead, Lucy!" Naruto said quickly, racing ahead at double the speed.

"HEY! NARUTOOOOO!" she yelled as he sped away. "DON'T AVOID THE QUESTION!"

* * *

"Phew, that was close," Naruto said to himself as Lucy's screams vanished into the distance. "Now, where was I? Oh yes, planning my victory..."


	11. Chapter 11

**I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

* * *

Naruto grinned as he rounded the bend, easily passing Gray and what looked suspiciously like a watery Juvia in the river. He waved a hand in farewell, but passed them too quickly to hear or see their reply.

"Heh, this race will be a breeze!" he proclaimed to himself. "I guess all those extra training hours I logged in with Bushy Brows and Bushy Brows-sensei paid off after all….Oh, wait, what?" he suddenly spluttered. "I can't believe I just thought that training that passes for torture was useful! Think normal Naruto thoughts, Naruto! Think ramen and orange, and absolutely NOT the colour green or anything youthful!"

**"I'll never understand why you humans love to talk to themselves constantly. I mean, what's the point when you know exactly what you're going to say?" **Kurama grumbled. Naruto went right on with his self-administered tirade, completely oblivious to Kurama's annoyed growls. **"Sometimes I wonder if I would have been better off being stuck with one of those Uchiha. At least ****_they_**** had some manners."**

Naruto's grin widened as he mentally spun around from his supposed oblivion and whipped out a victorious finger at the startled fox. _"Ah hah! You just talked to yourself too!"_ he crowed. _"Now you can't complain about me talking to myself because you do it too, you hypocrite!"_

**"I was talking to you!"** Kurama quickly retorted.

_"Nu-uh,"_ Naruto denied, shaking his head stubbornly. _"You were so too talking to yourself!"_ Kurama stared down at him with something akin to disbelief in his eyes as Naruto began performing some strange form of a victory dance.

**"Even after all the battles and wars you've fought in, you still have the audacity to act so childishly in front of me?!"** When no reply was forthcoming, Kurama just sighed heavily and flopped back down on his stomach. **"I guess this is what they call poetic justice. All those wonderful years of destroying cities and slaughtering villages have come back to haunt me in the form of this ridiculous child who seeks to mock me at every turn,"** he grumbled theatrically. Naruto, finally tired of dancing, jumped over to lay back against Kurama's paw and patted him sympathetically.

_"Don't worry Kurama, I _probably_ won't live to be as long as Mito, so you can get out after a couple hundred years or so!"_ he grinned. Kurama rolled his eyes and sulkily turned away from him.

**"Shouldn't you be concentrating on the race or something? You know, instead of bothering me and giving me headaches all the time?"** Naruto got to his feet, still grinning.

_"Yeah, yeah, I know. Jeez, you're such a mother hen."_ And with that, he left his mindscape, effectively hanging up on Kurama. Chuckling, he returned to the present, just in time to notice that he was catching up to a certain red-headed mage.

"Naruto? What's so funny?" Erza asked.

"Oh you know, the usual," Naruto grinned as he slowed his pace to match hers. "Just teasing Kurama and annoying him."

"Should you really be annoying a centuries-old demon fox with incredible powers while running a race? You'll break your rhythm!"

"Nah, he's used to my ribbing, and I'm used to my running," Naruto grinned, flashing a thumbs up. "By the way, the moon's already high in the sky, do you guys usually stop to sleep or do you keep running through the night?"

"How could you think of sleeping now?" Erza asked in a scandalized voice. "We are mages of Fairy Tail! Something as petty as sleep could never stand before us and our bonds of friendship!"

"Uh….right…. By the way, don't you have some sort of armour that lets you run faster? Besides this tracksuit?" Erza paused and stared at Naruto. "Not that this is bad!" he quickly added, a sudden feeling of foreboding creeping through him.

"That's a wonderful idea!" Erza cried suddenly. "Why didn't I think of that before? Thank you, Naruto!" With that, she flashed yellow before speeding away in her Flight Armour.

"You're….welcome?" Naruto said amusedly as she vanished from sight. He resumed running, increasing his pace once more. Mt. Ivor soon hove into sight, the rocky ledges surrounding it dotted with gleaming white plates. Naruto picked the nearest one up, inspecting it carefully. _Huh, so this is a wyvern scale…._ _Oh well, back to running._

* * *

Naruto waited patiently as he reclined on the roof, lazily watching the clouds while keeping an eye on the streets. He briefly wondered how the Boss was doing in the race, but easily dismissed the thought, confident that no matter what, the Boss would win the race. A clone jumped up to join him, bringing a report on the other clones' progress.

"The trap is all set to go, we're just waiting on your signal," he grinned.

"Good. Have the training clones disperse to tell the Boss that we're done. They're nearing their limit anyways, and it saves us losing one of our crew," the first Naruto ordered. The clone nodded and waved to the army of clones who were training in the field nearby. As one, they all waved back and dispersed themselves.

"Maybe that wasn't a good idea after all," the leader observed from his perch in a rare moment of insight. "The memory overload and chakra exhaustion might disrupt the Boss's pace."

"Well, as long as it doesn't bother us, who cares?" shrugged another clone.

"True, true," the leader laughed. "Okay, back to watching the road!"

* * *

"Naruto? Naruto, wake up!" Naruto groggily opened his eyes to find Happy standing over him.

"Eh, Happy? Why are you here?" he asked as he rubbed his head to alleviate the throbs of memory overload.

"We're running the race, remember?" Happy reminded.

"Oh shoot, I must have collapsed after my clones dispersed!" Naruto cried, jumping to his feet. "Thanks for waking me up, Happy! How can I thank you? Oh, I know, I can give you a lift?"

"No thanks, I can get there myself!" Happy proclaimed. Naruto nodded and with a quick wave, dashed off again.

As he ran, Naruto carefully sifted through the memories he had received from his clones earlier. He noted the report on his trap's progress before focusing on the results of the clones he had sent to train. _Hmm….judging by the position of the sun and the average speed of the rest of Fairy Tail, they should be hitting my trap in an hour or so…._Naruto mused. _Just enough time for me to catch up and see first-hand the results of my trap!_

* * *

Lead Naruto yawned as he gave the streets another cursory scan. He stiffened as a cloud of dust materialized at the end of the road, billowing around several indistinct figures. He let out a shrill whistle and another clone jumped to attend him.

"They're coming," the lead Naruto said gleefully. "Alert the clones on standby and the ones training and have them ready to seal off the exits and prepare for phase three." The clone saluted and vanished with a pop, relaying the orders to said clones and the original.

"This is going to be the best prank we've had in ages…." Naruto grinned evilly, digging out a bag of ramen-flavoured popcorn and popping handfuls into his mouth.

* * *

Erza pushed forward, followed by Gray, Natsu, and Gajeel. Hearing a roar behind them, Erza cast a quick glance backwards to see Jet furiously catching up to them.

"What?" Natsu cried in shock. "Why is Jet behind us?!"

"Wait, then that means we're in contention to win?!" Gray exclaimed.

"I don't thinks so!" Erza smirked. "Requip!" The familiar yellow glow flashed around her as she reappeared clad in her Flight Armour and running faster than ever.

"Flight Armour?!" Natsu yelled.

"It must be her trump card for the last spurt!" Gray exclaimed in realization. With three simultaneous roars of effort, the three mages put on a spurt of speed and managed to catch up with her, each one struggling to pull ahead and take the lead.

"Hold it, you guys!" Jet called as he caught up. Soon enough, the five mages were neck-to-neck, battling it out on the last stretch of street.

"Fists of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu roared, blasting as much fire as he could.

"As if!" Jet growled, catching up. With grunts of effort, each mage pulled ahead only to be overtaken by the another mage, with the cycle repeating itself over and over as they raced down the street. Suddenly, Natsu's flame-coated fists burned out, sending him stumbling in the dust behind the other four.

"It's not over yet!" he howled, pulling himself together and racing ahead. "I won't los-" With a resounding bang, Natsu ran face-first into thin air. Moments later, Jet, Erza, Gray, and Gajeel joined him on the floor, having run smack into the same invisible wall he had. Dazed, Natsu staggered to his feet and peered at the strange crack in the air.

"W-what's this?" he wondered as he slammed a shaky fist against the crack. "This feeling….a wall?! Well, whatever, Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!" With a shout, Natsu broke through the wall and charged forward, followed by the other four contenders.

"Aaaah!" Natsu screamed as his next step took him crashing head-first into a deep trench. "Owww! Who put that there?!" he yelled, even as Erza, Gray, Gajeel, and Jet crashed to the ground beside him. With a final desperate burst of energy, Natsu charged the trench wall and scrambled out, followed by the rest of the mages.

"And that's as far as you go!" laughed a familiar voice.

"NARUTO?!" five voices yelled in shock.

* * *

Lead Naruto burst into laughter as he watched the five lead mages slam into the wall that the clones had painstakingly painted to blend into the rest of the street. As he watched them slam through the wall and fall for the trench they had dug only a step away from the wall, he fell to the ground convulsing with full-out laughter. Still trying to control his mirth, he jumped down as the five mages crawled out of his trap.

"And that's as far as you go!" he grinned, still trying to hold back his laughter. As five gobsmacked faces looked up at him, he fell to the ground laughing again. Gasping for air, he quickly signaled the rest of the clones and retreated to get the giggles out of his system.

"Heh heh, so these traps were yours?" Natsu asked evilly as he got to his feet. "Victory will be mine!" With that, he flung himself at the nearest clone, dishing out punches and kicks like candy on Halloween. Within moments he was joined by Erza, Jet, Gray, and Gajeel.

"Hah! You'll never defeat the awesome Naruto army!" one clone crowed. "There are a hundred of us and five of you! There's no way you'll ever defeat us!" A rumble echoed and a huge dust cloud swept in.

"Huh? What's this?!" the clone asked, blinking in confusion. He peered through the dust to see the rest of Fairy Tail charge into the fray, stampeding over the one hundred and five combatants and safely crossing the finish line. Unnoticed, Erza jumped to her feet and joined the crowd.

"Don't step on me!" Natsu howled, his howls of complaint echoed by Gray, Gajeel, and Jet. With a huge poof, the clone army vanished, leaving the four mages lying on the ground and coughing in the smoke.

"Gray-sama, hurry!" Juvia cried.

"Natsu!" Happy cried.

"Everyone, hurry!" Lucy added.

"Shoot!" Gajeel growled.

"Easy for you to say!" Natsu retorted.

"This ain't no joke! High Speed!" Jet cried as he activated his magic. Three heavy bodies latched onto him, crossing the line in a photo finish.

"Goal!" the reporter screamed. "All four of you crossed at the same time!"

"WHAT?!" the four mages yelled.

"Are you prepared?" Master smirked evilly.

"You're kidding, right, Gramps?" Natsu protested.

"Gramps! At least let us have a tie-breaker!" Gray reasoned.

"No! I won't hear any more of your pitiful excuses! For a mage, there are no do-overs, for jobs or otherwise! Stop acting like babies and take your punishment! All four of you!" Master shouted.

"Fine I got it! Tell us what the punishment is!" Natsu said determinedly.

"There! That's the spirit! I will now announce this year's punishment! The four of you w-"

"Hey, look! Naruto's still on the road!" Lucy interrupted, pointing to the street. Everyone spun around to see an exhausted Naruto drag himself across the finish line and collapse in a heap before their feet, muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "knew...shouldn't have doubled...weights halfway".

"Hey, hey, if Naruto just got here, then we're not last!" Natsu yelled gleefully. Gray quickly jumped onto Natsu's reasoning and quickly turned to the Master.

"Gramps! That means Naruto has to do the punishment!" he whooped. "And we'll be fre-" His jaw dropped as another Naruto walked out from the guild and handed a Wyvern scale over to the collapsed Naruto.

"Sorry, Gray, but Naruto was actually the first one to get here," Master said cheerfully.

"What?!" Gray, Natsu, Gajeel, and Jet yelled.

"Yup! Boss sent me to go ahead because he wanted to pace himself and get some weights training done!" the clone explained cheerily. "I finished the race in no time and beat you guys here, so pay up, Jet!" Glumly Jet reached into his pocket and handed over the money. The clone stuffed the money into the original's pocket, nudged him awake, and dispersed itself with a smirk and a pop.

"Anyways, as I was saying, the four of you will do a super-embarrassing photo spread for the next issue of the Sorcerer! A super magnificent twenty pages, together with a one-week, all-access interview!" Master said, taking up where he had left off.

"What?!" the four mages shouted in unison. "No way!" With another explosion of dust, the mages dashed back down the road, chased by the enterprising reporter.

"They're running again?" Lucy asked in shock.

"Seems they still have plenty of stamina," Erza smiled. "As expected."

"I don't think that's what it is…." Lucy muttered. "By the way Naruto, how did you get here so fast?"

"Hm?" Naruto asked, turning to face Lucy. He paused as the rest of the guild crowded around him, curious expressions on their faces. "I used this!" he grinned, switching to his Tailed Beast Mode. The closest guild members fell back as the sudden presence of Kurama's chakra filled the area.

"Heh heh, sorry about that," Naruto said sheepishly as he reverted to his usual state. "I forgot it tends to have that kind of effect." He looked from face to face nervously, noting their shocked expressions.

"That….that was amazing!" Lucy cried, her eyes shining. Her compliment sent a rare blush spreading across Naruto's face as the rest of the guild echoed her sentiments. Erza hung back, still stunned by his display of power.

"So that was the power you were talking about…." Erza breathed. "So strong and warm…..just like you."


	12. Chapter 12

**I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

* * *

Naruto suppressed a yawn as he strolled into the guild building. He grinned as the money in his pocket crackled. Finally he had enough to go on a ramen-eating spree. His dreams of delicious ramen were rudely interrupted when Lucy jumped him the moment he entered the building.

"Naruto! You never finished explaining that magic of yours!"

"….Didn't I tell you?" Naruto asked in confusion, scratching his head.

"No, you just showed it to us and then vanished without a trace!" Lucy said crossly. "We've been waiting all morning for you to come in so we could find out before going on our job!"

"Oh, right," Naruto said sheepishly. "Just let me sit down before you bombard me with your questions." Lucy followed him as he found himself a seat and ordered a bowl of miso ramen. They were quickly joined by Erza, Natsu, and Gray. Naruto raised a questioning eyebrow as he looked from face to face.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"We want to hear what kind of magic you use," Gray explained.

"Yeah, once I find the secret to your magic, I'll beat you easy!" Natsu bragged.

"As you are now part of our team, it is important for our teamwork that we understand the extent of your abilities," Erza said seriously.

"I see," Naruto said thoughtfully. "Well, where to start…. First of all, I don't use magic, I use something called 'chakra'. Chakra is the mixture of one's physical and spiritual energy, and within everyone's body is something that we call the chakra circulatory system. It's a system that transports your chakra throughout your body." Naruto paused as his bowl of ramen arrived and took a few quick bites. When he looked up, he found the entire guild surrounding his table and listening intently.

"Uh, so yeah, since chakra is a combination of both physical and spiritual energies, that makes it stronger than magic, at least from what I've observed so far," Naruto quickly finished before returning to his ramen.

"Wait, if you're not a mage, then what are you?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Eh? I'm a ninja, of course!" Naruto grinned, pointing his thumb at his forehead protector. "Uzumaki Naruto, genin of the village Hidden in the Leaves, or Konoha, at your service."

"Ninja?" Natsu asked, a strange look appearing in his eyes. Lucy smacked her forehead and sighed.

"Not again…." She grumbled.

"Nin-nin!" Natsu grinned as he wrapped his scarf around his face and faked a hand seal. Happy followed suit, minus the scarf.

"Um, we don't actually do that kind of thing…." Naruto said.

"I don't think I've heard of any ninja in Fiore," Mira said thoughtfully. "Or a village called Hidden in the Leaves…."

"Uh…." Naruto stuttered, not quite ready to explain the whole 'I'm from another world' situation he was in.

"What about that thing you used yesterday? The one you used to beat Jet?" a mage asked from the crowd. Naruto let out a mental sigh of relief.

"That was what I call 'Tailed Beast Mode'. Where I come from, there were nine beings that were known as the tailed beasts. They resembled various different animals and were known for their number of tails, which increased from the One-tail all the way to the Nine-tails. The tailed beasts were huge, insanely strong demons that could easily destroy villages within minutes, and the strongest one was even said to be able to create tsunamis with a wave of its tail."

"Hey, that sounds a lot like Zeref's demons!" a mage jumped in. Various murmurs of understanding spread amongst the crowd.

"Uh….sure," Naruto said. "Anyways, as I was saying, the demons were really strong, so the people began coming up with ways to stop them. It was eventually discovered that they could be sealed within people, and these people were known as 'jinchuriki'.

"The night I was born, the strongest demon, the Nine-tails, attacked my village and our leader was forced to seal the demon into me, making me a jinchuriki. As I grew older, I met with the Nine-tails and learned his name, Kurama, and we became friends. We can merge our chakras together and when we do that, I go into Tailed Beast Mode, which you saw just yesterday." With their first question answered, the mages began throwing out more questions until Naruto finally raised a hand for silence.

"I've got a job to do today and a lunch to eat, so could you save the questions for later? Besides, I'm sure you're all hungry by now and Mira is looking awfully bored right now, so why don't you ask her some food-related questions?" Naruto said. The assembled mages grumbled but acquiesced and began drifting back to their tables and individual conversations. Naruto sighed in relief and finished off the rest of his ramen.

"Hey Natsu, if you really want to know how a real ninja fights, I'll fight you tomorrow," he called, effectively pulling Natsu out of the ninja trance he had gone into.

"Alright!" Natsu cried, pulling the scarf away from his face and jumping up and down in excitement. "Just you watch, I'm going to pay you back for that first fight and beat you so bad you'll be crying for mercy!" he boasted.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," Naruto laughed. He got up from the table and made his way through the crowd towards a familiar drunken figure.

"Hey Cana! I need a favour," Naruto said as he dropped into the seat beside her. She cast a sideways glance at him as she downed another bottle of beer.

"Like what?" she asked suspiciously.

"I heard you can find anyone with those cards of yours, so I need you to get a fix on Mystogan's location."

"Mystogan?" Cana asked interestedly. "Why him?"

"Oh, just need to talk to him," Naruto said airily. "So, will you do it?"

"If you show me one of your jutsus, sure," she grinned. "Not that it will do you much good; Mystogan never shows himself or talks to anyone except Master."

"You already saw what I used before," Naruto smirked.

"I need to see a new one!" she scowled. "Since you conveniently forgot to invite me to see your fight against Mira, you've gotta pay me back with a new jutsu!" Naruto frowned and thought for a moment before nodding decisively.

"Alright, it's a deal. You find Mystogan for me and I'll show you a jutsu."

"That's more like it," Cana grinned. She reached into her bag and pulled out a bunch of cards and a map of Fiore. She spread the cards before her and after a few moments of concentration, stabbed her finger on a small town not too far from Magnolia.

"He's at Onibus. You're lucky, I usually have a lot of difficulty finding him. Maybe it's because he's so close? Anyways, show me that jutsu of yours!" she demanded. Naruto carefully inspected the map, committing it to memory as best as he could before stepping back.

"Alright, you wanted to see a jutsu, right?" he smirked as he put his hands together. "Shadow clone jutsu: release!" With a laugh and pop, Naruto burst into smoke, sending Cana coughing and choking for air.

"You idiot! I've already seen that one!"

* * *

"Onibus, hmm?" Naruto mused as he arose from his lotus position and reviewed his clone's memories. "Should only take a couple of minutes." With that, he sprang to his feet and dashed across the roofs towards Onibus. As he ran, he thought back to the talk the old man had given him shortly after the parade had finished.

* * *

_"Old man, we never finished talking about my situation," Naruto said, approaching the master. Makarov looked up and finished off his mug of beer before waving for Naruto to follow him into his office._

_"Hm, where were we? Ah yes, I was just saying that you should talk to Mystogan."_

_"Mysto-who?" Naruto asked in confusion._

_"Mystogan. He's one of our S-class mages, but like you, he comes from another world. If anyone can help you get home, it's him. However, he is notoriously difficult to find, so you may want to talk to him before he leaves the area. If you can't find him, try asking Cana for help; she is able to locate most anyone with those cards of hers. Oh, and you probably won't be able to use that Sage Mode thing of yours, as he doesn't possess any magical energy in his body."_

_"I see…. What world does he come from if he doesn't possess magic?" Naruto asked curiously. Makarov shrugged his small shoulders._

_"You'll have to ask him that yourself; he has yet to tell even me where it is he comes from or how he came to be here."_

_"How will I know what he looks like?" Naruto asked after a moment of thought._

_"He carries several staffs on his back and generally goes around covered up. He wears a dark blue cape and has bandages wrapped around his arms and legs. He also wears a dark blue bandanna with a forehead protector on it, much like yours except blank, as well as a mask to cover his face. When you find him, tell him I sent you and explain your situation to him. I'm sure he will consent to help you once he hears your predicament."_

_"He dresses like a ninja?" Naruto asked incredulously. "Well, at least it shouldn't be too hard to find him…."_

* * *

"Where in the world _is_ this guy?!" Naruto screamed in frustration after asking yet another villager and getting the 'no, I have not seen this person' answer for the fiftieth time or so. "I guess I'll just have to do this the old-fashioned way. Shadow clone jutsu!" Fifty clones burst into existence and immediately scattered throughout the town.

Naruto took a deep breath and returned to his original task: asking every person he came across if they had seen a man wearing dark blue clothes with his arms and legs wrapped in bandages and a mask and bandanna covering his face.

* * *

"Hey! Wait up!" a clone called as he pushed through the crowd towards the cloaked man. "Uh, uh, Mistagin? Mystakon? Mystogan? Yeah, Mystogan!" The man paused and turned towards the clone.

"I'm a mage from Fairy Tail," he panted. "The old man sent me to you to tell you about my problem and see if you can help me out."

"Oh?" Mystogan asked. "And that would be….?"

"Actually, could we go somewhere a bit more private?" Naruto asked, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"Very well. Follow me," Mystogan said as he resumed weaving through the crowd.

"Actually, could you just tell me where we're going? I'm a clone and I need to disperse to tell the original that I found you…." the clone grinned sheepishly. Mystogan raised an eyebrow before nodding in understanding.

"In that case, I will meet you at the northeast entrance to the town." Naruto nodded and released the jutsu, dispersing into a cloud of smoke.

* * *

"So you're the original?" Mystogan asked, stepping out from behind a tree. Naruto spun around, surprised, before regaining his composure.

"Yep! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet you!" he grinned. Mystogan nodded in agreement. "Likewise."

"How to say this...? First off, I'm a mage of Fairy Tail, but I'm actually not from around here," Naruto began. "In fact, I come from another world, like you." Mystogan's eyes widened in shock.

"You…?! You're from Edolas?" he asked.

"Edo-what?" Naruto asked, puzzled. "I come from Konoha….in the Elemental Countries."

"Elemental Countries, huh?" Mystogan mused. "If you didn't come from Edolas like I did, then how did you get here?"

"Well, it's a really long story, but basically I got caught in this gigantic explosion and the next thing I knew, I was here. Any ideas as to how I can get home?"

Mystogan frowned thoughtfully. "An explosion you say? In that case, it may very well have attracted an Anima, or the collision of energies may have created an influx of space in which case…." he muttered, going through several complex calculations and mulling over various theories. Naruto stared at him blankly.

"So….? Any ideas? Preferably without the technical jargon?"

"I'll have to look into it more, but simply judging from what you've told me, your chances of returning are unlikely. Seeing as it was the clash of energies that sent you here, the logical conclusion would be for you to create a similar explosion to send you back, however, that would require such a large amount of energy that it would be near impossible to obtain, much less cast without fatally injuring yourself in the process." Naruto's face fell as he realized exactly what Mystogan was inferring. He took a deep breath and forced down his grief, choosing instead to focus on the hope that he would be able to get home one way or another. After all, he _was_ the number one most surprising ninja, right?

"Alright, thanks for the help," Naruto said. "If you come up with anything new, can you send me a message? You could drop it off with the old man or something."

"That sounds workable," Mystogan replied, nodding his head in agreement. "If that is all, I'll be moving on; I have a job to finish." He paused, glancing back at Naruto. "It was nice meeting you." With that, his body fizzled into a cloud of mist, which promptly vanished into the air.

"Um, yeah….It was nice meeting you too?" Naruto found himself saying to thin air. He scowled for a moment before breaking out into his trademark smile. "Ah well. See you later….Mystogan."

His goal accomplished, Naruto turned back towards Magnolia, already eagerly anticipating his first job as a member of Team Natsu. He flipped through the air, his heart strangely light and peaceful despite the worrying news he had just learned.

_Everyone….I will get stronger and I _will_ return, I promise. Just wait for me…. _


	13. Chapter 13

**I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

* * *

"What's this?" Naruto asked curiously as he examined the magical diagram that Mira had set up next to her counter.

"We've come up with an organization chart of the dark guilds," Mira explained.

"Uh….dark guilds?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"They're guilds that aren't recognized by the Magic Council, so they're treated as criminal organizations," Lucy explained as she joined Naruto at the foot of the chart.

"They seem to be awfully active recently, so I think we need to work on strengthening inter-guild relations," Mira added.

"What's the big circle for?" Naruto asked.

"Ah, Juvia knows that. That's the most powerful force amongst all the dark guilds: the Balam Alliance," Juvia said, joining the conversation. "The Balam Alliance is a massive force made up of three individual dark guilds. Each of these has a number of lesser guilds under its control, and thus the three of them keep the underworld in check."

"Ahh! Eisenwald!" Lucy exclaimed as she scanned the chart.

"Eisenwald?" Naruto repeated, completely lost.

"It's a dark guild that tried to kill the guild masters with one of Zeref's demons. We defeated them earlier this year," Erza explained.

"So that guild was under the control of these Oracion Seis…." Gray muttered.

"So was Ghoul Spirit, the dark guild the Thunder God Tribe annihilated," Elfman added.

"All those guilds that Juvia and Gajeel destroyed when we were part of Phantom were under Oracion Seis, as well!" Juvia said cheerily.

"Don't say that stuff with a smile…." Gray said.

"Ah….I hope they're not mad at us…." Lucy shivered.

"Ahh, don't worry about that….I mean there's supposed to be just six of 'em anyways!" a guild member laughed.

"I know….How small can a guild get, right?" another agreed.

"Hm….That may be true, but that 'tiny guild of six' is supporting a third of the underworld," Naruto noted, his eyes examining the chart carefully. The guild members cringed at that.

"About those Oracion Seis….We're going….to take them down!" Makarov said as he entered the guild. Everyone's faces went slack jawed in surprise. All that is, except Mira. She cheerily welcomed the old man back as usual.

"Welcome back, Master!"

"So, Master….What exactly is this about?" Erza questioned.

"At the regular meeting a few days ago, the Oracion Seis came up on the agenda. Seems they're up to something. It was decided that this development cannot be ignored, and so a guild must be sent to eliminate them," the old man explained.

"And you just had to draw the losing card as usual, huh?" Gray scowled.

"Fairy Tail is taking up that responsibility?" Juvia asked in surprise.

"Not quite….The enemy is simply too strong for that. If we went alone, then we would eventually end up as the sole targets of the Balam Alliance's wrath. As such….We're going to be forming an alliance of our own," Makarov said.

"An alliance?!" the guild shouted in unison.

"Fairy Tail. Blue Pegasus. Lamia Scale. Cait Shelter. Each of these guilds is to select a number of members, and those members will join forces to defeat the enemy."

"Heh, sounds fun," Naruto smirked.

"We can handle those guys alone! I mean, _I_ can handle those guys alone!" Natsu protested.

"Master is thinking of the long-term consequences," Erza explained.

"Wait….Hold on a second….We're dealing with just six people, right? What kind of monsters _are_ they….?!" Lucy shivered.

* * *

"Why the heck am _I_ included in this grand strategy anyway?!" Lucy asked, freaking out.

"I think this is a pain as well, don't you start complaining," Gray glared.

"This is the Master's decision. Do we not have a duty to live up to his expectations?" Erza smiled.

"But what about Gajeel and Juvia?! They'd be much better suited for a battle like this!" Lucy protested.

"Don't worry Lucy, I'm here," Naruto grinned cheekily. "Besides, I know you're strong enough for this. And what's life if all you do is go out on the boring and easy jobs? You've gotta add in some excitement now and then!"

"Are….we still….not….there….yet?" Natsu groaned. As usual, he was ignored.

"In the end, we're just the same old group as always…." Lucy sighed. "Well, except for you, Naruto," she added with a glance towards the yawning blonde.

"Surely that's a good thing? This is our first strategy meeting with the delegates from the other guilds. It's important that we have good relations within our own delegation," Erza reasoned.

"There it is!" Happy cried as he looked out the window. "That's the meeting point!" Naruto stared in disbelief as they entered the building.

"What….is _this_?! The décor, the colours, the style….it's just too horrible!" he howled as he covered his eyes. "Save me from this trauma!" Lucy rolled her eyes at Naruto's antics and continued walking. He pouted and trailed behind her, taking each step reluctantly and wincing every now and then.

"What is this place anyways?" she asked as she gazed around the building.

"It's a villa belonging to the Master Bob of Blue Pegasus," Erza explained.

"Oh! That guy…." Gray said in recognition.

"A….are we still not there….?" Natsu groaned as he staggered in.

"We've already arrived, Natsu…." Happy said. Suddenly the lights went out, sending a startled Naruto reaching for a kunai.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Fairy Tail….It is a pleasure to finally meet you. We are the delegation from Blue Pegasus….The Trimens." A spotlight flashed, revealing three figures standing before them in matching suits.

"Hundred Night Hibiki," said the first.

"Holy Night Eve," said the second.

"Empty Night Ren," said the third. Naruto relaxed and returned his kunai to his holster.

"Th….They're cool….!" Lucy exclaimed. "Unlike our guys…."she added, glancing over at Gray and Natsu, who were looking for clothes and moaning in pain respectively.

"Hey! What about me!" Naruto protested, crossing his arms. "Aren't I cool?" Lucy waved him aside dismissively.

"Sure….until you start talking. Then your 'coolness' vanishes and you become the childish kid you really are," she teased. Naruto opened his mouth to retort just as the Trimens whisked Lucy away to join Erza at a couch as they served them refreshments.

"What is up with these guys….?" Gray scowled as he pulled his jacket back on. Naruto blinked in surprise as the three mages flirted and complimented Erza and Lucy.

"Th-that was fast…." he muttered. "Not even Jiraiya…."

"My friends….I think that is quite enough of that, yes?" a new voice intruded.

"Wh-what the?! What is this sickly sweet voice?!" Lucy shivered.

"Ichiya-sama…." Ren began.

"Ichiya?" Erza repeated in surprise.

"It has been a while, my dear Erza-san!" the voice exuded.

"T-to think that _you_ would be participating…." she trembled. Naruto frowned; if Erza was trembling this badly, then this Ichiya must be someone to be feared….

Or not.

"I have longed to see you, my honey! Worry not….Ichiya is here for you!" the voice exclaimed. Naruto's eyes widened as the man hove into view. The image that greeted his eyes sent him reeling back and crashing to the floor. He rubbed his eyes furiously, trying to force the memories away. To think he would encounter something as traumatizing as Gai and Lee in this world as well!

"So you were the lover of Ichiya-sama….We must apologize for our conduct…." the Trimens said, bowing.

"I vigorously deny everything," Erza glared.

"Clear all that away! We're not here to mess about!" Ichiya exclaimed, sending the Trimens racing away, table and dishes in hand.

"I have heard all about you people….Erza-san, Lucy-san, and the other three," he continued, turning back towards the Fairy Tail mages. Naruto blinked in amazement. This guy was even worse than Gai and Lee, and that was saying something.

"Ah, such wonderful perfume!" the man suddenly cried, turning towards Lucy.

"I'm really creeped out….." Luc shivered.

"I'm sorry….I have trouble dealing with this guy as well," Erza confessed. "Though he _is_ admittedly a great mage."

"Insufferable dandies of Blue Pegasus…. Could I trouble you to keep those hands of yours off our lovely ladies here?" Gray asked coldly.

"Oh, you men can just run off home," Ichiya replied dismissively.

"It has been a pleasure!" the Trimens bowed.

"Whoa, whoa! Are you Pegasus punks tryin' to pick a fight, sending over this bunch of womanizing creeps?" Gray gritted.

"Are you sure you want to try?" Ren smirked.

"We are powerful mages, you know," Eve added.

"A fight?! All right! I'm in!" Natsu cheered. Naruto grinned and cracked his knuckles.

"Sounds fun. I can pay you guys back for all the trauma you've put me through today…."

"Enough already, all of you!" Erza snapped.

"Erza….Your perfume is glorious as always," Ichiya smiled dreamily as he popped up behind Erza.

"Don't come near me!" she screeched as she punched him in the face, sending him flying away. Just as the man neared the open doors, another mage appeared, grabbing Ichiya by the head.

"Interesting manner of greeting us you have there," the silver-haired mage began as ice encased Ichiya's head. "Would you be the delegates from Fairy Tail?"

"Lyon?!" Gray exclaimed.

"Gray?!" the man cried as he caught sight of Gray.

"You….were in a guild?!" Natsu asked in surprise.

"Hmph," Lyon smirked as he tossed Ichiya towards Lucy and Gray, who hastily jumped out of the way.

"What are you playing at?!" Gray yelled.

"Well, you did it to me first, right?" Lyon smirked.

"What do you think you're doing to our boss?!" Ren shouted.

"It's terrible!" Eve cried.

"Could all you men perhaps just leave?" Hibiki sighed.

"Oh…? We're not all men, you know," a new voice said. Naruto narrowed his eyes and jumped back as the carpet shifted under his feet. "Doll Play Attack: Carpet Doll!"

Lucy dodged aside with a screech of surprise. "Wait….this magic…." she stammered.

"Ohoho….Don't try pretending you've forgotten me, now….It's time for you to forget all about the past me! I have been reborn for the sake of love!" the mage cried, revealing herself to be a pink-haired woman.

"Sherry!" Lucy cried in recognition.

"More….I need to smell more of that glorious perfume!" Ichiya cried, bouncing towards Erza.

"S….Stay back! I'll slice you!" she yelled.

"Lyon…." Gray glared.

"Gray…." Lyon returned.

"Bring it, punks!" Natsu hollered, drawing the gazes of the Trimens.

"You, I cannot love," Sherry smirked.

"I don't like you either!" Lucy replied.

"Well, this is a great start," grumbled Naruto. "So much for an alliance."

"Enough!" a new voice rumbled. "We are here to form an alliance….and defeat the Orcaion Seis. This is no time to be fighting amongst ourselves." Naruto eyes widened as he briefly sensed the amount of magical power emanating from the man. _This guy….he's on a whole other level!_

"Jura-san…." Lyon muttered.

"Jura?!" Erza cried, spinning around.

"This man is….the ace of Lamia….Iron Rock Jura," Ren said in awe.

"Who?" Natsu asked in confusion, a sentiment echoed by Naruto.

"He's one of the Ten Wizard Saints!" Happy cried. Silence pervaded the room at that.

"Uh….what?" Naruto asked, scratching his head.

"They're the ten most powerful and skilled mages!" Lucy exclaimed. "Even I've heard of his name!"

"Five fairies, and four pegasi, I see….But three of us will be quite sufficient," Sherry mocked. Naruto scowled but forced down his anger to focus on the situation at hand.

"Three of the guilds are now assembled. All that remains is the delegation from Cait Shelter," Jura stated.

"You say 'delegation'….but from what I hear, they are only sending a single mage!" Ichiya countered.

"A single mage?! Those idiots are only giving us one mage to help out in this stupidly dangerous mission?!" Gray exclaimed.

"W….Wait….don't tell me it's going to be some stupidly powerful person….?!" Lucy cried. Quiet footsteps echoed behind them and Naruto turned just in time to see a small girl trip forward. He darted forward and caught her just before she hit the ground.

"Th-thanks," she stammered in surprise before regaining her composure. "U….um…. I'm sorry I'm so late. I'm here from Cait Shelter. My name is Wendy. Pleased to be working with you all!" Ignoring the cries of shock from behind him, Naruto held out his hand, a grin already forming on his face.

"Nice to meet you, Wendy. I'm Naruto from Fairy Tail."


	14. Chapter 14

**I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

* * *

"All the guilds are now assembled," Jura rumbled calmly.

"Whoa, whoa, hold it!" Gray protested.

"An offensive endeavour of this scale, and they send us a single child….? What do Cait Shelter think they are playing at?" Sherry scowled.

"Alone? I think not, you tawdry woman," said a new voice. Naruto sighed quietly. How many more people were going to pop out of nowhere?

"Carla! You followed me here?!" Wendy cried.

"But of course. I would worry to no end if you were to go off alone." Naruto raised an eyebrow at the sight of their newest arrival. She was a cat just like Happy, albeit with white fur and a better sense of fashion.

"U….um….I….I can't actually fight at all, but….I know lots of support magic that should be useful to you all…." Wendy stammered. "So please don't leave me out completely!"

"Honestly….it's that timidity of yours that makes people look down on you!" the cat scolded.

Naruto did a double-take, looking her over with new eyes. Dark blue hair, check. Tendency to stammer, check. White eyes? Nope. Not quite a Hinata look-alike after all, but similar enough. He opened his mouth to reassure her that he was sure she was plenty strong, but Erza beat him to the punch.

"My apologies….We were a little taken back, but I'm sure nobody meant you any insult. We look forward to looking with you, Wendy," she said kindly.

"Wow….It's Erza-san….It's really her, Carla!" Wendy said in awe.

"She is more agreeable than I had expected," Carla allowed.

"D….Do you know me? I'm Happy the Nekomander!" Happy said, blushing slightly. Carla pointedly look away, ignoring him.

"Ahh, she's so shy….How cute…." Happy cooed.

"Or she could be ignoring you…." Lucy added. Judging by the affronted look on Carla's face, Naruto felt more inclined to agree with Lucy. He watched in amusement as the Trimens surrounded Wendy. He narrowed his eyes as he sensed her magic. It wasn't particularly strong, but there was something about it that felt….different.

"This girl….This glorious perfume….She is something special," Ichiya said, voicing Naruto's thoughts.

"You have noticed it too, Ichiya-dono? There is something different about her magic….It seems that Erza-dono and Naruto-dono have realized it also," Jura replied. Naruto appraised the two men with new eyes; it seemed they were not quite as inadequate as he had first believed. It did seem that there was some sort of trend going on with powerful mages/ninjas having strange tendencies to act abnormally.

"Now, then….Since everyone has finally arrived….I shall proceed to the explanation of our strategy!" Ichiya announced, breaking Naruto out of his thoughts. "….But first I must visit the perfume of the lavatory." Naruto blinked and sighed, cradling his head in mock pain. _Why do all the strong guys have to be idiots?_ he wondered in exasperation. He winced when he realized that label could be applied to himself as well, but quickly forced down that thought, preferring to skate over his own supposed peculiarities. He strolled over to chat with Erza, but was interrupted by Ichiya's return.

"North of our current location lies the Worth Woodsea. It is there that a mighty magic was sealed away in ancient times. Its name….Nirvana," Ichiya began. Naruto, predictably, had never heard of it, but he was mildly surprised to see everyone else sporting looks of confusion.

"We know that its destructive power was so great that the people back then saw fit to seal it away…." Ren began.

"But we don't know exactly what kind of magic it was," Eve continued.

"But since the Oracion Seis have gathered in the Worth Woodsea….We should assume that Nirvana is their goal," Hibiki concluded. "In order to prevent them from obtaining it….We must defeat them now! We have thirteen mages, whilst they have but six. But we would do well not to underestimate them. Each of those six mages is extremely powerful." Hibiki held up his fingers in a strange gesture before pointing into the air beside him. Six images shimmered into existence, each bearing a portrait of a different person. Naruto raised an eyebrow in interest as Hibiki began a quick rundown of the six figures.

"Cobra, who uses poisonous snakes. Racer, whose name would appear to indicate that he uses speed-related magic. Hoteye of the Heavenly Eyes. Angel, a woman who is said to be able to see into your heart. Information on this man is scarce, but he is known as Midnight. And finally, their leader, Brain. Each of these mages has power enough to annihilate a guild single-handedly. We must take full advantage of our numerical superiority."

"Er….Erm….You probably shouldn't bother counting me at all…." Lucy confessed.

"I'm no good at fighting either…." Wendy added.

"Wendy! Will you stop being like that?!" Carla scowled.

"Worry not – our strategy is not limited to simple combat. The important point is that we locate their base of operations," Ichiya reassured.

Naruto smirked knowingly. "I see…." he muttered. "Just like the good old days." Noting the confused faces of the majority of the group, Ichiya began explaining in further detail.

"We have yet to confirm this for certain, but we believe they have established a temporary base of operations in the woodlands. If at all possible, we want to get all six of them together at that base."

"How do we do that?" Gray asked, blunt as usual.

"By beating them up!" cried the battle-happy Natsu.

"Back to simple combat already, I see..." Lucy frowned.

"What do we do once they are gathered there?" Erza inquired.

"We use our guild's mighty Pegasus airship, the Christina…..to destroy their base and them along with it!" Ichiya finished. Naruto narrowed his eyes. It was a sound plan, to be sure, but explosive notes sounded a lot handier and more reliable than this magical bomber or whatever it was.

"….You're breaking out a bomber craft against humans….?" Lucy asked.

"That is the nature of the enemy we face. Now, take heed….If combat does ensue, nobody is to attempt to face an enemy alone. You must always do battle in groups of at least two," Jura cautioned.

"Right! I'm all pumped up now!" Natsu smirked. "I'm gonna take all six of them on by myself!" Naruto sighed as Natsu slammed through the door and raced away. _Was I really this bad when I was younger?_ he asked himself wearily. _If so, I can finally understand how Kakashi-sensei got that silvery hair of his…._

"I suppose we should go after him," Erza sighed.

"That absolute idiot…." Gray scowled.

"Ah well, I've been waiting for a good challenge like this," Naruto smirked as the four dashed out the door after Natsu.

* * *

"I can see it! It's the woods!" Natsu cried elatedly.

"Of course it's the woods, what did you think they were?" Naruto asked humorously. Natsu jerked in surprise.

"Naruto! How did you get here so fast?" he questioned. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"I won the race, remember? I can be faster than Jet if I want to be. By the way, you do know that this is supposed to be an alliance, right? You know, working with others?"

"Heh, it's not my fault they're too slow!" Natsu bragged.

"Or smart…." Naruto muttered under his breath. He skidded to a stop as he felt a large shadow pass over them, accompanied by a light wind. Natsu stopped a moment later, sending Gray crashing into him. Naruto ignored them as they tumbled to the ground, angrily shouting at each other. He looked up and whistled in admiration.

"That's one big bomber….Now if only they chopped off the pony head and made it look a bit more menacing…." A sudden explosion ruined the dramatic moment, followed by several other, smaller explosions. Naruto frowned as the bomber fell from the sky blazing and smoking.

"Uh….That wasn't supposed to happen, was it?" he asked the nearest Pegasus mage. The gobsmacked face told him as much. "Thought not."

"What's going on?!" Lyon asked, peering through the smoke.

"Someone's coming…." Gray noted. Naruto narrowed his eyes as the smoke dissipated, revealing six sinister figures standing before them. Well….five. One of them appeared to be napping on a floating carpet.

"Oracion Seis," Erza said, narrowing her eyes.

"Some maggots have gathered," the leader Brain, if Naruto remembered correctly, said.

"Your way of thinking is too predictable," Angel smirked.

"We've already beaten Jura and Ichiya. How's that?" the two blue figures beside her asked.

"What?!" Lyon exclaimed.

"No way!" Ren gasped.

"Are you trembling?" the one called Cobra leered. "I heard it."

"We prefer to finish our job as quick as possible, but you guys are in the way," Racer stated.

"Money makes a person stronger, right? Let me tell you something good, in this world money is everyth-" Hoteye began before being rudely interrupted.

"Just shut up Hoteye."

"What's up with villains and their catchphrases?" Naruto sighed, ignoring the fact that he had a catchphrase that he used quite often himself. He cracked his knuckles and smirked. "Ah well, at least I can finally get a bit of a workout…."

"I never expected them to make the first move," Erza stated.

"You saved us some time!" Natsu grinned as he, Naruto, and Gray jumped forward.

"Do it," Brain said. Racer blurred forward, darting behind the three boys and executing a lightning quick attack. Naruto barely blocked the attack in time, but Natsu and Gray were blown away. Gritting his teeth from the blows thudding against his guard, Naruto jumped back to check on his friends. Racer smirked and dashed off to take down the Trimens. After making sure Natsu and Gray were in fact, fine, Naruto hurried over to help Lucy, who seemed to be fighting….herself? Before he could help her out, Lucy was sent flying and the ground softened under his feet.

"What in the world….?" he scowled as he found himself sinking, joined by Lyon and Sherry.

"With money not even love is needed, right?" the man asked as he ruthlessly crushed them into the ground.

"Hmph, as if something like this could stop me…." Naruto smirked. "Rasengan!" With practiced ease, Naruto slammed the spiralling ball of chakra into the ground and freed himself. Instinctively, he channeled chakra to his feet and was satisfied to see that the water-walking method seemed to work on the softened earth as well. He quickly took stock of his surroundings, soberly noting that the only ones left fighting were him, Erza, and Gray, who was taken out moments later. Fortunately, or unfortunately it seemed, the Oracion Seis had failed to notice his escape and were currently concentrating on Erza, who was fending off Racer's attacks with admirable speed. A wall of earth surrounded her and she turned to face the new threat, failing to notice Racer's next attack.

"I got your back," Naruto grunted as he blocked the attack. "I'll take this one and Hoteye." Racer took off and Naruto followed, just able to match the man's speed.

"How….?" Racer spluttered as Naruto slammed several blows into the man, sending him flying backwards. Hoping that attack would keep him down long enough for him to deal with the rest, Naruto turned back to the battle, just in time to see the large snake Cobra carried around snapping towards Erza. In an instant, he darted forward and pushed her out of the way, receiving the bite instead.

"My snake's poison won't kill you straight away….You'll suffocate in pain," he smirked. Naruto gritted his teeth as he forced down the pain.

"I'm fine," he hissed at Erza before she could ask him. She nodded and jumped back into battle. Naruto stumbled and collapsed to his knees, his body trembling violently and his vision blurring. He forced himself to his feet just as Erza was sent flying towards him, a snake bite on her arm too. Gasping in effort, Naruto caught her and lowered her to the ground.

"You trash should all vanish," Brain said impassively, dark magic coalescing around his hand. Naruto's eyes widened as he sensed the amount of power behind the attack. _Shoot…._ He forced himself back on his shaky feet and concentrated. _Please make it in time…._

"Dark rondo!" the man proclaimed, slamming the attack into the defeated allies. Residual smoke from the attack dispersed slowly, revealing a glowing shroud protecting the group. Naruto sighed in relief as he confirmed that everyone was still alive and relatively well. He stumbled and collapsed again as his body fought the poison's effects.

**"Stay still,"** Kurama growled. **"I'm burning off the poison as we speak, but you're going to need to calm down."**

_"Tch. Hurry it up,"_ Naruto replied. Brain frowned as he realized his attack had failed, but simply lifted his staff to execute the attack once more, seeing as Naruto was currently incapacitated. Naruto gritted his teeth, knowing he wouldn't be able to make it in time to protect them. Suddenly, the attack stopped, and the strangest look came over Brain's face.

"Wendy."


	15. Chapter 15

**I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

* * *

"Wh-what did you say?" Naruto demanded as he tried to get to his feet.

"What's wrong Brain?" Racer asked.

"An acquaintance?" Cobra surmised.

"It's definitely her. The Sky Sorceress…."

"Sky….Sorceress?" Naruto gritted out.

"What is that?" Wendy whimpered as she crouched behind her rock.

"Looks like I've picked up someone valuable. Come…." Brain smirked as his magic snatched Wendy from behind her rock. Natsu scrambled to his feet, followed by the rest of the reviving mages.

"When it comes to money…." Hoteye pointed his fingers at the rising group. "There is no difference between up and down."

"Argh!" Naruto grunted as the ground beneath him swirled and rose up around them. "Not this again…."

"Wendy!" Carla yelled.

"Happy!" Natsu cried. The two cried brought Naruto's attention to the vanishing duo, but there was nothing he could do with the poison still circulating through his system.

"I no longer have business with you scum….Leave my sight!" Brain commanded as he fired more beams of energy at the collapsed mages.

"I won't make it in time!" Naruto warned. "Take cover!"

"Iron rock wall!" Jura roared as several rock pillars rose to form a protective ceiling above them. Naruto's shoulders sagged in relief and he let his body sink to the ground, giving in to the numbing effects of the poison.

"Jura-sama!" Sherry cried.

"Ohh! Just now?" Gray asked.

"Amazing…." Eve gasped.

"Thanks for saving us," Hibiki grinned.

"Thanks for saving me too," Lucy groaned from underneath Hibiki.

"Where are they?" Natsu raged as he jumped to his feet. "They're gone?! Shoot! They ran away!"

"Wendy…." Carla said worriedly.

"We got owned," Ren sighed.

"They were too strong," Eve agreed.

"Thank goodness you're safe, Jura-san," Lyon said as he rose, clutching his arm.

"You're wrong. I was in critical condition," Jura said as blood seeped through the bandages wrapped around his waist.

"That wound…."

"For now Ichiya-dono's pain relieving perfume is suppressing it temporarily," Jura explained.

"So Oracion Seis ran away in fear at the sight of our arrival…." Ichiya posed. "Come everyone bathe in my pain relieving perfume."

"What a magnificent fragrance…." Sherry smiled.

"The….pain is….fading," Lucy said slowly.

"They kidnapped….both Wendy and Happy….Where are they?!" Natsu growled as he raced away. He was pulled to a stop as Carla snatched the end of his scarf and dragged him backwards.

"Wings?!" Gray exclaimed.

"The cat is flying…." Eve wondered.

"This magic is called Aera. Well….I don't blame you for being surprised," Carla sniffed.

"You're the same as Happy," Natsu said bluntly.

"What did you say?!" Carla snapped. She took a deep breath and regained her composure. "More importantly, even though I'm worried about Wendy and the male cat….We know we can't blindly charge into the enemy when we have no chance of winning."

"Just as Carla said, the enemy is stronger than we thought," Jura agreed.

"And about that…." she continued, pointedly looking over at Erza and Naruto.

"Please hold on Erza!" Lucy cried as she hovered above Erza, who was gasping in pain.

"It can't be….How can my pain relieving perfume not be working?!" Ichiya exclaimed.

"Sorry….Lucy….May I borrow your belt?" Erza asked as she grabbed said item.

"Wha….What are you doing….?" she stammered as Erza tied the belt around her arm.

"I'm still going to fight," she mumbled through a wad of cloth she jammed in her mouth. A sword appeared into existence beside her. "Cut my arm off!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Gray yelled.

"Understood, I'll do it," Lyon said, bending down to pick up the weapon.

"Do it," Erza gritted.

"We cannot allow this woman to die now," Lyon said coldly as he raised the sword.

"But…." Lucy protested.

"How naïve are you, fairy?" Sherry scoffed.

"What do you know about us?!" Lucy shot back.

"Do it, quickly!" Erza growled. Lyon nodded and slashed down with all his strength. The sword swung down, only to be stopped mid-swing Naruto and Gray stood before him, both glaring determinedly at Lyon. Naruto's kunai fell from his trembling hands and he collapsed, leaving Gray to hold the sword back with his burst of ice.

"Do you believe her arm is more important than her life?" Lyon questioned.

"There could be another method. Don't think about using such a nasty method…." Gray replied calmly.

"Don't….underestimate….us….." Naruto gasped from the ground.

"Ah…." Erza sighed as she faded into unconsciousness and collapsed to the ground.

"Erza!" Lucy cried.

"This isn't good! If this continues the poison will circulate….It's a wonder Naruto can move at all, much less Erza!" Eve said worriedly.

"Wendy can save them," Carla commented. "This isn't the time for comrades to be arguing. We should combine our forces and rescue Wendy and the male cat."

"Can she counteract magic?" Eve asked in surprise.

"Amazing…." Ren murmured.

"Not just counteracting but she also has her pain relieving healing which can counteract fevers," Carla sniffed.

"Well….yo….you see….that's my role…." Ichiya edged in.

"Healing you say….could it be Lost Magic?" Sherry asked in surprise.

"Could it be related to the Sky Sorceress thing they said?" Lucy wondered.

"She is the dragon slayer of the sky. Sky Dragon Slayer Wendy."

"Dragon Slayer?!" Natsu repeated in shock.

"I'll fill you in on the details later! Even though I shouldn't say anymore…." Carla said. "Right now we need Wendy….And even though we don't know where we're going, we know Wendy is important to them."

"So in other words…."

"We have one goal."

"To rescue Wendy…."

"In order to save Erza and Naruto…."

"And Happy too."

"Let's go!" the eleven mages shouted.

* * *

"Boys….Hurry….please….." Lucy sighed as she watched Erza worriedly.

"They are in the middle of the forest…. And you, why are you not with them?" Hibiki asked.

"I couldn't leave Erza and Naruto like that. And after all, I'm not the most powerful between us anyways," Lucy smiled softly.

"That modesty!" Hibiki exclaimed as his fingers raced across the keyboard of his Archive. "I have listened to rumours in which you won to a gorilla of three meters high and made the recovery of the Phantom guildmaster impossible. You're said to have fought Acalypha alone."

"You're exaggerating. But why aren't you with them?"

"I can't leave two women like that. Besides, my magic allows me to gather information about this place. Happy and Wendy disappeared here. If they cannot return to this place, there's no point, right?"

"Don't worry, Lucy," Naruto said quietly as he slowly sat up.

"Ah! Don't move Naruto! Just lie back and wait; Wendy will be back before you know it and heal you two," Lucy said, fretting over him.

"Heh, don't worry about me…. I heal pretty quickly and by now, the poison is mostly gone," Naruto said, clenching his fist experimentally. "Besides, I hardly think Wendy will have enough magical energy to heal both of us…. In my experience these kinds of things usually take up a lot of power. But as for Erza….she doesn't have much time. If she is going to survive until Wendy heals her, I'll have to use my power…." With that Naruto crawled over to her side and gently laid his hand on Erza's arm. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

**"You're still not back to full power yet, Naruto,"** Kurama said worriedly. **"If you go through with this, it will take longer for me to completely flush the poison out of your system."**

_"Perhaps, but Erza's life is hanging in the balance….. If I can save her life at the cost of speedy healing, then I will eagerly do so_," Naruto replied simply. Kurama consented and golden chakra flared to life around Naruto.

**"Remember to watch the amount of my chakra you put in her,"** Kurama cautioned. **"My chakra may be less harmful than before, but it's still far too potent for any normal human to cope well with. Especially since you can't match it with magical energy yet."**

_"I know."_ Cutting off the connection, Naruto focused on Kurama's chakra. Once he had it under control, he carefully directed it towards the undulating poison in Erza's arm. The chakra flowed down his arm and into hers, blazing through the murky poison that pooled in the wound. When it began leaking into Erza's own magic, Naruto quickly cut the connection and pulled the rest of Kurama's chakra back inside him. He sat back, panting slightly.

"There, now she'll survive until Wendy gets back." He rose and stretched. "In any case, I'm going to head out and get a scope of the situation. Maybe set up a watch for Natsu and the others too. Don't worry about me, be back in a few!" With a smirk and a wave he dashed off into the woods.

* * *

"Eh, who are you guys?" Naruto asked casually as he surveyed the group of mages surrounding him.

"Oracion Seis-affiliated Archangel," the leader smirked. "You're surrounded, give it up." Naruto couldn't help but roar in laughter at the irony of that particular statement.

"Surrounded, eh?" he finally choked out, getting his laughter under control. "There must be what, twenty of you?"

"Thirty-seven," the leader growled. "And this is no laughing matter, you idiot!"

"My numbers can go from one to one hundred…. But I won't even need to bother with clones on scum like you. All I need…..are my fists!" Naruto snarled as he dived forward, slamming into the nearest mage. The mages scattered, trying to get out of the range of his fists and fire beams of magic at him whilst fleeing. Naruto easily dodged their attacks, all while taking down the mages around him as he did so. Soon enough, he stood alone surrounded by groaning mages. Naruto sighed as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Hmph, that took a lot more out of me than I thought it would," he grumbled. "I'd better get back to Erza and the others before they start worrying."

* * *

"Ah! Natsu!" Naruto shouted as he spotted the pink-haired mage dashing through the undergrowth. Naruto flipped out of his tree and joined Natsu on the ground, slowing down his pace to accommodate for the mage as he did so.

"Naruto! You're feeling better!" Natsu grinned toothily.

"Yep! And you've got Wendy, this is great! We're not too far from Erza and the others, they're just a little ways ahead."

"Yeah, I know! That Hibiki dude talked to me telepathically and said something about uploading a map or something, and then I knew exactly where to go!" Naruto raised an eyebrow at that.

"Upload?" he questioned. Natsu shrugged.

"I dunno what he meant, you'll have to ask him. Oh and that reminds me, you still owe me a match!"

"Oh yeah! I forgot about that," Naruto said sheepishly. "Alright, I'll fight you after this job is over and we get home, deal?" Natsu grinned and clasped the proffered hand.

"Deal!"

"And….We're here!" Naruto announced as they burst into the clearing.

"What's going on? Suddenly this map showing me how to get here appeared in my head…." Natsu asked, turning to Hibiki.

"That can wait. Bring Wendy over here," Hibiki said, brushing aside Natsu's questions.

"Oh yeah! Wake up, Wendy! C'mon, you've gotta save Erza!" Natsu yelled as he dropped Wendy to the ground and began shaking her violently.

"Calm down, Natsu….!" Lucy screeched. Naruto rolled his eyes and went over to check on Erza, noting the feverish flush on her face and her moans of pain.

"Ahhh….!" Wendy cried as she awoke. "I'm so sorry….I….."

"That doesn't matter right now! Erza was taken out by a poisonous snake! You've got to help her! Please!" Natsu cried, falling before her.

"Poison?" Wendy repeated.

"We need Erza's power on our side in the battle against the Oracion Seis," Hibiki explained.

"Please….You have to save Erza!" Lucy pleaded.

"B….But of course! Right! I'll do it!" Wendy nodded.

"Thanks Wendy…." Naruto murmured as Wendy sat down by Erza's other side and placed her hands on the poisoned woman. She gave him a brief smile before concentrating on Erza. Her hands glowed, surrounding Erza in a soothing blue light. At last the glow faded and Wendy sat back, wiping the sweat from her brow.

"There….All done! There's no more poison left in Erza's body," she smiled. Erza slowly stirred and everyone cheered.

"All right!" Natsu laughed in relief. "Lucy, Naruto, high-five!"

"Thank goodness!" Lucy agreed.

"That was too close for comfort," Naruto nodded.

"Carla!" Happy cried.

"Just this once!" she said grudgingly as she accepted the high-five.

"Wendy!" Natsu grinned, holding up his hand. "Thank you!" Naruto held up his hand too, and Wendy hesitantly high-fived the two of them.

"She may not open her eyes for a while yet….But she'll be okay now," Wendy said shyly.

"Incredible….the colour really is returning to her face….so this is sky magic….." Hibiki said, bending over Erza. Naruto spun around and launched him away with a solid kick.

"Not so close!" he growled as Hibiki sprawled on the grass.

"Ah, right, my bad," he chuckled sheepishly.

"May I say something?" Carla interrupted. "I would request that you not force Wendy to use her sky magic any further. As you can see, using this magic takes up large quantities of Wendy's magical power."

"No, don't worry about me! I just…." Wendy hesitated.

"Now we just have to wait for Erza to wake up and then go on the counterattack," Hibiki said.

"Yeah! Time to take down the Oracion Seis!" Lucy grinned.

"Yeah! We're not letting them have Nirvana!" Happy agreed. Light suddenly flashed around them and in the distance a pillar of light rose from the forest.

"A pillar of black light…." Wendy wondered.

"Could it be….?" Carla began.

"That's….Is that….Nirvana….?!" Hibiki exclaimed.

"The Oracion Seis beat us to it already?!" Lucy cried.

"That light….Jellal is there….!" Natsu growled. Naruto froze, his mind spinning from the force of that name.

"Jellal?! Natsu! What do you mean Jellal is there?!" Lucy cried as Natsu dashed away.

"It's….It's all my fault…." Wendy whimpered.

"We can't let Erza meet up with that guy again.…! No matter what! I'm going….to take him out!" he roared before vanishing from sight.

_"Jellal…."_

**"Oi, Naruto, Erza's leaving,"** Kurama growled, poking the dazed teen. **"My guess is she's heading for Jellal. You'd better follow her; you need all the information you can get about how you got here if you're going to get home, and Jellal is just the person you need."**

_"Alright, I'm on it,"_ Naruto agreed as he silently took to his feet and raced after Erza.

"Who's there?" Erza growled, spinning around as Naruto jumped out of the trees. He skidded to a stop, raising his hands in surrender.

"Calm down, it's just me." Erza relaxed and dismissed the sword she had summoned.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?"

"Jellal….he was there when I came to Earthland. He's the only clue I've got left that can help me get home, so I'm coming with you," Naruto replied determinedly. Erza smiled and nodded before returning to her dash through the woods with Naruto beside her.

"Erza….are you okay?" he asked in concern, noting the conflicting feelings crossing her face. Erza remained silent for a moment before answering.

"After everything he's done….. How….am I supposed to face him? I…."

"That's something you'll have to decide when you see him. But...no matter what….I will stand by your side," he said at last, clasping her shoulder comfortingly. "I promise."

"Thank you, Naruto. I…." She was abruptly cut off by a blast of wind that slammed into them. Instinctively Naruto raised his arms to break the wind as he peered through the clouds of dust. Slowly, a figure emerged from the haze, a figure with bright blue hair and a sinister tattoo. Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Jellal…."


End file.
